Escooter rant
 

I would like to have a rant about escooters because they have have been rapidly on the increase in my area and are not only illegal but potentially dangerous to the riders and innocent people because the idiots riding them do so on the pavements, in parks and on the road usually at there full speed 15.5mph.

The police have the power to issue riders with fines, penalty points and even confiscate them but they don’t do anything other than put out reminders through the local crime groups that everyone ignores (hence why they are on the increase).

I am amazed how many young kids in my area illegally and often dangerously ride them at full speed, and of course their parents likely buy them for the kids or at the least condone them riding them illegally. Even in areas that are running escooter trials, they can only be rented from authorised companies (you can’t buy your own one and use it), and those hiring them must be 18 years old and have at least a provisional driving licence.

I have an ebike and I don’t even like riding that on the road just on the short journey to the woods, but no way would I ever ride an escooter even if it was legal to do so because they are not suitable for roads with the tiny wheels and I have seen tests on them being used in dry and wet conditions and the stability and stopping distance compared to a bike is awful.

Anyway that’s my long winded rant over.

Having nearly wiped one out some Months ago I consider them to be death traps.

This is heartening News.


Illegal e-scooter users facing month-long crackdown by West Midlands Police

Riders caught illegally using e-scooters could be fined £300 or face having their scooters seized.


https://news.sky.com/story/illegal-e...olice-12328036

Coupled with this I have seen an increasing number of motorcyclists without crash helmets in my Town.

#Dontgiveashehit

Disney332

That’s great to hear because its firm police action that will eventually stop or heavily reduce their use.

Also on our community facebook page some people have said that if you can buy them then you should be allowed to use them which is ridiculous because I can buy a pack of condoms but it doesn’t mean I can use them in public:grin:

That is not good at all, and in fairness we don’t have that issue around here (at the moment).

I get absolute delight when I see on TV the police ramming the motor scooter riders off their bikes who commit crimes because they literally got away with murder because the police couldn’t previously do that:grin:

In Nottingham the council have got a 1 year e-scooter scheme so we have loads of them, and people just seem to leave them anywhere once they've finished using them too so they're all over the place!
https://www.transportnottingham.com/ride-like-the-wind/

I would have thought they would have designated places to leave them so it’s odd they can be left anywhere.

They do look smart and it’s good that they can be controlled so in certain places so the speed is restricted (or cannot be used at all outside the specific area). I am all for green travel but only when it’s safe.

Confiscate and crush them (the escooter not the rider) 😉

It’s gone crazy here with bike lanes everywhere - priority it seems over pedestrians and cars. In the town centre there is the road, then a separate wide bike lane, then the pavements. When you get off a bus you are stepping right onto a bike lane to get across to the pavement. It is mad.

I was waiting last week for the lights to change to cross a road but when they change you are stepping into a wide bike lane so you have to rush over this to then cross the road before the lights change again. I was doing this as an idiot on one of these scooters came zooming along. It’s an accident waiting to happen.

Blind people don’t stand a chance.

Unfortunately they are legal in London and TFL have now launched a rental scheme for them - they are everywhere except where they should be.

https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/ele...r-rental-trial