Electric Scooters

[Amarillo]

Think it’s a bit harsh blaming car drivers for A 4 year old not being safe to cycle on the roads. Strewth! For goodness sake the little person is 4 years old stick to cycle paths for at least a couple of years.

Do you think that four year olds should be legally allowed to cycle on the pavement?

 

[Amarillo]

Thought scooters had a throttle whereas e-bikes were pedal assist.

I have to admit to never having ridden an electric scooter. But does the presence or otherwise of a throttle a sufficient reason for making ebikes road legal and escooters not road legal (except in very limited circumstances)?

For goodness sake - just limit uninsured escooters to 15.5mph, 250w power, and rider at least 14 years old, and save a whole load of people from Covid spluttering public transport. A modest fixed penalty for those who ride without lights at night, and those who carry more than one passenger on scooters not adapted for more than one passenger, and we are done.

 

[WelshGas]

I have to admit to never having ridden an electric scooter. But does the presence or otherwise of a throttle a sufficient reason for making ebikes road legal and escooters not road legal (except in very limited circumstances)?

For goodness sake - just limit uninsured escooters to 15.5mph, 250w power, and rider at least 14 years old, and save a whole load of people from Covid spluttering public transport. A modest fixed penalty for those who ride without lights at night, and those who carry more than one passenger on scooters not adapted for more than one passenger, and we are done.

Maybe so. I was just pointing out that e-scooters are not the same as e-bikes. Different Control Systems.

 

[soulstyledevon]

Do you think that four year olds should be legally allowed to cycle on the pavement?

Yes...!!!
We cycle to school most days, I cycle along the road at kerbside and I make him ride on the pavement.
I make sure he gives way.
We have a park in the centre of town, no cycling but the outskirts routes are busy roads. We’ve had some abuse numerous times, even though we cycle on the grass when approaching pedestrians.
It’s just not safe for kids on the roads.

 

[Amarillo]

Yes...!!!
We cycle to school most days, I cycle along the road at kerbside and I make him ride on the pavement.
I make sure he gives way.
We have a park in the centre of town, no cycling but the outskirts routes are busy roads. We’ve had some abuse numerous times, even though we cycle on the grass when approaching pedestrians.
It’s just not safe for kids on the roads.

We now mostly cycle to school on our tandem triplet, using the road. When the boys are on their solo bikes we use the road too, them in front and me barking instructions from behind. Ben (7) is very road confident, fully aware of traffic and uses road position and eye contact to effectively communicate with other road users. Jack (5) is a liability on the road and has to follow my instructions to stay safe.

All the local authority maintained roads in the borough have a 20mph speed limit. This is widely (almost universally) disregarded, but I would not use that as an excuse to disregard the pavement cycling restrictions.

 

[soulstyledevon]

@Amarillo have you seen the Tern bikes.
They can carry passengers and loads upto 200kg.
Pretty amazing bikes...

 

[Amarillo]

@Amarillo have you seen the Tern bikes.
They can carry passengers and loads upto 200kg.
Pretty amazing bikes...

No, I’ve never seen them. There’s a dad at school who has made his own bike that looks something like that.

 

[Mickyb123]

Amarill, honest answer mate, I have my thoughts on that, but as it’s nothing to do with VW cali or electric scooters pros and cons for the person who started the thread not really interested in continuing going off the thread.

 

[Karlos]

Brilliant aren’t they...
We stick him on the gator when we hit the traffic spots and let him run free on the cycle ways.
I would love him to be able to spend more time off, but the roads aren’t safe enough for a 4year old.

To many impatient fatties clogging up the roads, with no respect for other road users...

They are, I towed my daughter from about 3 yrs old as it allowed us to travel further after getting into trouble with Mrs K. Long story short, I took Rachael out cycling on a trail when she was about 3, she was off stabilizers but still on a tiny first bike and we were out all day.

When Mrs K came home from work about 6pm Rachael was fast asleep, she slept until about 11am the next day. I was not popular and looked for a solution and found the Trailgater. I liked the fact I could take her to school and tow the empty bike home and also liked the fact we could release her from it which we couldn't do if we had bought a tow bike. She loved it and it attracted a lot of attention

I was out cycling with her last year and she said wish we still had the Trailgator, she was 25 at the time.

Happy cycling.

 

[Denzilgts]

I have to admit to never having ridden an electric scooter. But does the presence or otherwise of a throttle a sufficient reason for making ebikes road legal and escooters not road legal (except in very limited circumstances)?

For goodness sake - just limit uninsured escooters to 15.5mph, 250w power, and rider at least 14 years old, and save a whole load of people from Covid spluttering public transport. A modest fixed penalty for those who ride without lights at night, and those who carry more than one passenger on scooters not adapted for more than one passenger, and we are done.

I have bikes and electric scooter, I use the scooter probably more than our car. They are brilliant at getting to town for small essential shopping items I travel along a cycle path into town. every time I pass a pedestrian I always ring them bell in advance and give notice. It costs nothing to say thank you on the way past . I know there are elements of society who don’t do that but I believe it’s time as a nation we should allow scooters

they are limited to 15.5mph if you use them sensibly no problem

as in all walks of life ... yes even California drivers can drive badly .. the main difference would be car and van drivers are in control of a full on killing machine

I will continue to use the scooter and all of my bikes for as long as I can

 

[Mickyb123]

Just be careful out there, it’s a driving offence riding the scooter and could get you points on your licence

 

[Lightning]

These things are wobbly. I keep seeing teenagers wobbling into the middle of the road, and today I saw lady with a full load of shopping carrier bags on the handlebars struggling to maintain a direction. It’s a new hazard to look out for around here, slower than bikes too.

 

[ArunAlec]

2 deaths of e scooter riders reported today on my local BBC News.

 

[Lightning]

They are starting to crack down on them now. People are also getting points on their driving licences, and bans for drink driving.

More than 500 e-scooters taken off London streets in police crackdown

More than 500 e-scooters were seized by police in London over the past week as part of a crackdown on the increased use of uninsured e-scooters.

www.standard.co.uk

 

[Anthony1]

They are starting to crack down on them now. People are also getting points on their driving licences, and bans for drink driving.

More than 500 e-scooters taken off London streets in police crackdown

More than 500 e-scooters were seized by police in London over the past week as part of a crackdown on the increased use of uninsured e-scooters.

www.standard.co.uk

I saw them for sale in Halfords a couple of days ago, with a sign reading: cannot be used on the road or the pavement or footpaths or byways. Only on private land with the owner's permission.

Having said that, you can hire them and use them on the streets but not buy one - what lunatic made up that rule I wonder?

 

[WelshGas]

I saw them for sale in Halfords a couple of days ago, with a sign reading: cannot be used on the road or the pavement or footpaths or byways. Only on private land with the owner's permission.

Having said that, you can hire them and use them on the streets but not buy one - what lunatic made up that rule I wonder?

The hire ones are part of a number of nationwide trials to see whether the numpties that hire them have the intelligence to use them as permitted. 1 person, road use only and they are speed limited.

 

[Ch1pbutty]

The hire ones are part of a number of nationwide trials to see whether the numpties that hire them have the intelligence to use them as permitted. .

E-scooters: Mans dies after crash in Brighton

The man dies after the crash in Brighton more than two weeks ago, prompting a police appeal.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[WelshGas]

Not in this case:

E-scooters: Mans dies after crash in Brighton

The man dies after the crash in Brighton more than two weeks ago, prompting a police appeal.

www.bbc.co.uk

Was that a trial scooter, speed limited etc?

 

[Ch1pbutty]

Was that a trial scooter, speed limited etc?

No, I just heard the story on the news this morning. Brighton has not yet allowed scooter hire , but you do see a few being ridden illegally. If allowed it would be carnage on the seafront bike lane in the summer, which is a poor design placed in the middle of the pavement so pedestrians need to cross the bike lane to cross the road!

 

[ArunAlec]

No, I just heard the story on the news this morning. Brighton has not yet allowed scooter hire , but you do see a few being ridden illegally. If allowed it would be carnage on the seafront bike lane in the summer, which is a poor design placed in the middle of the pavement so pedestrians need to cross the bike lane to cross the road!

The other death, in Portsmouth, was stated as not being a rental scheme scooter.

 

[Lightning]

No, I just heard the story on the news this morning. Brighton has not yet allowed scooter hire , but you do see a few being ridden illegally. If allowed it would be carnage on the seafront bike lane in the summer, which is a poor design placed in the middle of the pavement so pedestrians need to cross the bike lane to cross the road!

They have these bike lanes in Bristol too, the same colour as the pavement to keep it looking nice, with just a small bike symbol every so often. It is so dangerous for verybody. They also sprinkle black metal bollards every so often easily obscured by other bikes or at night to add to the threat.

 

[Borris]

The hire ones are part of a number of nationwide trials to see whether the numpties that hire them have the intelligence to use them as permitted. 1 person, road use only and they are speed limited.

They recently introduced them in Canterbury. Judging from my limited sitings of these things being used, I'd say that the future doesn't look good. There seems to be a sort of law breaking Catch me if you can mentality by those that use them.

Why do we actually need them? They seem to be used almost exclusively by young people and as little old Canterbury has a student population of +40,000, I'm guessing that they will be the main user group. They are already showing signs of being a problem. Their widespread use could turn out to be a real nightmare.

 

[Lightning]

I spoke to someone in Pure Electric who sell these, and he told me they are likely to be legalised with a requirement for a helmet, insurance and a proper number plate.

 

[WelshGas]

I don't think there have been any deaths related to the Hire Scheme scooters as they are speed limited to 12.5 or 15 mph, unlike the scooters for sale which can go upto 40 mph and can be easily modified for higher speeds.

 

[Lightning]

They recently introduced them in Canterbury. Judging from my limited sitings of these things being used, I'd say that the future doesn't look good. There seems to be a sort of law breaking Catch me if you can mentality by those that use them.

Why do we actually need them? They seem to be used almost exclusively by young people and as little old Canterbury has a student population of +40,000, I'm guessing that they will be the main user group. They are already showing signs of being a problem. Their widespread use could turn out to be a real nightmare.

Young people need to get around too. Cheap convenient transport. It only cost £30 a month to hire them with unlimited 45 minute rides.