Crazy: ‘It is legal for shops to sell e-scooters but it is illegal for e-scooters to be ridden on the road and pavement’

• THE news that a 20-year-old e-scooter rider has died in hospital in Wolverhampton after being critically injured in collision with a car should be a wake-up call for everyone as e-scooters are set to become more common on our streets and pavements.

To make matters worse, the deceased’s 19-year-old girlfriend, who was a passenger on the e-scooter when it collided with a VW Golf, was seriously injured.

A few months ago, I and others witnessed a distressing accident on Edgware Road where an e-scooter rider collided with a car. An ambulance, paramedics, and the police, were called to attend. Thankfully the e-scooter rider’s head injuries were not fatal.

The current legal situation is crazy. It is legal for shops to sell e-scooters but it is illegal for e-scooters to be ridden on the road and pavement.

Because of this legal confusion, police are now having to spend their valuable time catching e-scooter riders, fining them £300, and adding six points to their licence.

The situation will soon become even more complicated when e-scooter hire trials start in Westminster and elsewhere. E-scooters will be limited to 15.5mph on roads and cycle lanes and riders will need a provisional or full car or motorcycle licence.

Surely, until the e-scooter hire trials have been completed and found to be safe, shouldn’t all private sales of e-scooters be banned? Isn’t this the sensible and common-sense way to approach this road safety issue?

CLLR PAUL DIMOLDENBERG
Labour City Management Spokesperson
Westminster City Hall, SW1