e-scooters trial short and not sweet.
Discussion
A few people will die. A few will complain. A few will love it.
In this nannyised world we live in, people want zero risks. This is simply not possible.
Open it to the masses and in 5 years take a good look at how many were injured/died compared to how many had no issues at all. Then make a decision and compare it to car crashes, smoking related deaths, alcohol-related deaths etc...
In this nannyised world we live in, people want zero risks. This is simply not possible.
Open it to the masses and in 5 years take a good look at how many were injured/died compared to how many had no issues at all. Then make a decision and compare it to car crashes, smoking related deaths, alcohol-related deaths etc...
Seems to me that the trial is doing exactly what it should - highlighting problems and letting them trial solutions.
As for stopping people leaving the scooters anywhere, the ones I've used in Atlanta won't let you end the journey in some parts of the city - so you either dump the scooter in the wrong place and keep paying for it, or park it elsewhere.
As for stopping people leaving the scooters anywhere, the ones I've used in Atlanta won't let you end the journey in some parts of the city - so you either dump the scooter in the wrong place and keep paying for it, or park it elsewhere.
I nearly took out someone on an eScooter recently. Approaching a blind T junction intending to turn right, the guy on the eScooter comes flying round the corner at full speed, turning left from the main road into the road I was on. Of course he swings right over to my side of the road and I have to anchor up hard to avoid hitting him.
Of course it doesn't mean they should be banned, but it does raise questions about who pays for any damage they cause. After all, they won't have insurance, or even be identifiable if they hit something and then scoot off. Plus in this particular instance, I would no doubt have been hauled over the coals if I had hit him.
Of course it doesn't mean they should be banned, but it does raise questions about who pays for any damage they cause. After all, they won't have insurance, or even be identifiable if they hit something and then scoot off. Plus in this particular instance, I would no doubt have been hauled over the coals if I had hit him.
Its not hard is it, people just lack brains. I will ride my road bike on shared use paths but if there are pedestrians you slow right down and remove that kinetic energy, I am a fairly big bloke on a bike and I have a responsibility to not hit pedestrians, dogs or anything else. I dont want an angry mob calling the Police as I have just knocked someone over.
Trouble is, electric stuff is great but it attracts the lazy and stupid, saw a kid on a lashed up MTB with an electric rear hub go sailing through a pedestrian crossing the other day as he was doing maybe 30 and didnt want to and probably couldnt stop. Some fat bloke of about sixty five was steaming down the tow path on his monstrous eBike yesterday, about four feet wide with his mirrors either side, he got, quite rightly shouted at as he was carving round people at barely abated speed.
So, d
heads like that will get them banned, its not the tech thats the problem its people, then the same aholes will say its H and S gone mad
Trouble is, electric stuff is great but it attracts the lazy and stupid, saw a kid on a lashed up MTB with an electric rear hub go sailing through a pedestrian crossing the other day as he was doing maybe 30 and didnt want to and probably couldnt stop. Some fat bloke of about sixty five was steaming down the tow path on his monstrous eBike yesterday, about four feet wide with his mirrors either side, he got, quite rightly shouted at as he was carving round people at barely abated speed.
So, d
heads like that will get them banned, its not the tech thats the problem its people, then the same aholes will say its H and S gone madThere is already a long running thread on this:
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Personally I think the Government have (surprise surprise) made a total and utter arse of introducing e-scooters.
Making it ‘rental only’ has simply encouraged antisocial behaviour on a scale that wouldn’t be seen if private ownership and use was allowed.
If you can rent electric scooters for a few quid then it is simply the green light for them to be used by idiots who don’t care if they trash them or ride them dangerously.
If you spend £500 buying your own scooter then you are likely to ride it carefully, look after it, and not do anything that draws unwanted attention.
The exact same thing happened with rental bikes around the UK. They mostly got thrown in rivers, trashed, stolen, ridden antisocially and left everywhere they shouldn’t be.
If you based the legality of bicycles on the results of a bicycle rental trial, then we wouldn’t be allowed bicycles right now.
If they had said from day one that it was legal to use your own e-scooter but set high penalty fines and confiscation for riding them in the wrong places, then I doubt we would have many issues, the same as we have few issues with privately owned and ridden bicycles.
Unsurprisingly, Germany have got it right:
Private scooters are allowed to be used on roads and cycle lanes but they must be ‘type approved’, meaning a good quality £450-500 scooter with built in lights and brakes rather than a badly made £50 scooter.
You must have insurance at a cost of £15 per year which is indicated by an anti-tamper sticker you apply to the scooter.
There are a range of ‘on the spot‘ cash fines for using them in any manner other than what is legal.
Why do we always fk things up in this country?
Making it ‘rental only’ has simply encouraged antisocial behaviour on a scale that wouldn’t be seen if private ownership and use was allowed.
If you can rent electric scooters for a few quid then it is simply the green light for them to be used by idiots who don’t care if they trash them or ride them dangerously.
If you spend £500 buying your own scooter then you are likely to ride it carefully, look after it, and not do anything that draws unwanted attention.
The exact same thing happened with rental bikes around the UK. They mostly got thrown in rivers, trashed, stolen, ridden antisocially and left everywhere they shouldn’t be.
If you based the legality of bicycles on the results of a bicycle rental trial, then we wouldn’t be allowed bicycles right now.
If they had said from day one that it was legal to use your own e-scooter but set high penalty fines and confiscation for riding them in the wrong places, then I doubt we would have many issues, the same as we have few issues with privately owned and ridden bicycles.
Unsurprisingly, Germany have got it right:
Private scooters are allowed to be used on roads and cycle lanes but they must be ‘type approved’, meaning a good quality £450-500 scooter with built in lights and brakes rather than a badly made £50 scooter.
You must have insurance at a cost of £15 per year which is indicated by an anti-tamper sticker you apply to the scooter.
There are a range of ‘on the spot‘ cash fines for using them in any manner other than what is legal.
Why do we always f
k things up in this country?As scooters, with small wheels, are unsuitable for the things that pass as roads these days, they are not a good thing to be letting people loose on.
Compared to a motorbike, they are sketchy as hell, and require as much attention in operation as a skateboard, which I think we can all look at as a fairly risky way to travel.
And Coventry as a trial city... dear god.
Compared to a motorbike, they are sketchy as hell, and require as much attention in operation as a skateboard, which I think we can all look at as a fairly risky way to travel.
And Coventry as a trial city... dear god.
Cheeses of Nazareth said:
As scooters, with small wheels, are unsuitable for the things that pass as roads these days, they are not a good thing to be letting people loose on.
Compared to a motorbike, they are sketchy as hell, and require as much attention in operation as a skateboard, which I think we can all look at as a fairly risky way to travel.
And Coventry as a trial city... dear god.
And yet hundreds of people commute on them everyday around cities like London, and have done for years, with very few incidents.Compared to a motorbike, they are sketchy as hell, and require as much attention in operation as a skateboard, which I think we can all look at as a fairly risky way to travel.
And Coventry as a trial city... dear god.
It seems everyone has them in cardiff anyway.
The riding is attrocious. And some of them can go some. Had a kid overtake me yesterday when i was going about 40mph. Just wearing shirts and shorts - if he comes off it wont be good.
In principle im not against them. Should have mandorary training and enforcement for poor riding behaviour.
The riding is attrocious. And some of them can go some. Had a kid overtake me yesterday when i was going about 40mph. Just wearing shirts and shorts - if he comes off it wont be good.
In principle im not against them. Should have mandorary training and enforcement for poor riding behaviour.
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