Rental E-Scooters legal from Saturday

[Conor]

I had a shock the other day when i saw a cyclist actually do a life saver before sticking his hand out to turn right...
Cant remember the last time i saw that..

Whats a life saver? Glance over shoulder? I do that all the time.. it's beggers belief how somebody can turn (sometimes swerve) on the road without looking to see if there is steel barge coming up into their planned path.

I would often state that I am surprised there aren't more people killed on the roads.. but I know the answer, it's to the detriment of drivers stress levels. Drivers need to stay alert to all this carry on by other users, because if something happens they are nearly wrong by default.

Out of interest what is that £50 for?

I mentioned the £50 - It was a finger in the air job. A first attempt at suggesting some kind of nominal fee. I see that another tax isn't great. Perhaps if you already pay car tax you are exempt?

The main idea is to get cyclists to pony up a little bit to get them to appreciate that a lot of cash has been spent altering roads for them.

It's a difficult one as it's not good to de-incentive cyclists.

 

[AnthonyUK]

I mentioned the £50 - It was a finger in the air job. A first attempt at suggesting some kind of nominal fee. I see that another tax isn't great. Perhaps if you already pay car tax you are exempt?

The main idea is to get cyclists to pony up a little bit to get them to appreciate that a lot of cash has been spent altering roads for them.

It's a difficult one as it's not good to de-incentive cyclists.

Perhaps it is one of costs that have been considered and then given how much it would cost to administer and could also discourage a healthier lifestyle hence pushing more costs onto the already struggling NHS.
E-scooters and e-bikes I think are ok for the not so fit as an entry point to progessing to something healthier.

 

[dry run]

Perhaps it is one of costs that have been considered and then given how much it would cost to administer and could also discourage a healthier lifestyle hence pushing more costs onto the already struggling NHS.
E-scooters and e-bikes I think are ok for the not so fit as an entry point to progessing to something healthier.

I like it! the E-scooter is a "gateway drug" to cycling.

 

[Conor]

Perhaps it is one of costs that have been considered and then given how much it would cost to administer and could also discourage a healthier lifestyle hence pushing more costs onto the already struggling NHS.
E-scooters and e-bikes I think are ok for the not so fit as an entry point to progessing to something healthier.

It's true. The primary reason I didn't buy an e-scooter / swegway / hoverboard was that sometimes the only exercise I do is between my flat and station or shops etc.. If I cut that out I am reducing my exercise.

 

[davidsl500]

Anyone can use the road but they should all have insurance and be identifiable.

Out of interest, a quick calculation, 10kg scooter + 50Kg rider (lightweight) at 12mph = 2,200Kg impact force > 2 metric tonnes

 

[LostKiwi]

Not wanting to be picky but kg is a measure of mass not force. Force is measured in Newtons.

 

[AnthonyUK]

Anyone can use the road but they should all have insurance and be identifiable.

I’m not disagreeing but that isn’t a current requirement.
It doesn’t stop pedestrians/cyclists/scootists being liable for an accident.

 

[davidsl500]

Not wanting to be picky but kg is a measure of mass not force. Force is measured in Newtons.

Yes I know but I wanted to put it in terms of tonnage that most people could understand > 21.6 kilonewtons doesn't hack it...as opposed to let me rest this 2.2 tonne weight on you....

 

[davemercedes]

I don’t follow the difference - why will the law allow you to use a hired item (that will in all probability rapidly become a piece of junk because users won’t take care of them) but forbid you from using something you spent your own money on buying and probably take reasonable care of it?

 

[AnthonyUK]

I don’t follow the difference - why will the law allow you to use a hired item (that will in all probability rapidly become a piece of junk because users won’t take care of them) but forbid you from using something you spent your own money on buying and probably take reasonable care of it?

Because that is how the law was writtem
Keeping it to rental schemes you can control the quality of the provided item to some degree and ensure that the rental fee includes 3rd party insurance. It will also be the providers responsibility to ensure they are only left in the virtual docking areas.

I've used the 'Boris bike' scheme since day 1 and cannot fault it for the price apart from the bikes weighing 25kg.

How much damage would I do with a combined weight of 100kg?
Thankfully never had an accident in 20+ years of commuting.

 

[Frontstep]

Yes the attempt to regularise the offering and bring some order is behind the hire system but you can't help feel the scooters will be under siege from day one.

I do think they must increase risk for users particularly new or perhaps less agile ones the lack of helmet is understandable but not good.

 

[davemercedes]

Any odds on pavement riding, corner short-cutting, cutting in during heavy traffic and generally stupid behaviour? Make sure your dash cam is alive and well (front and rear if you've got both)!

 

[LostKiwi]

I suspect the damage from any normal cyclist would be greater than electric scooters at 12mph.
Any half decent cyclist on a pedal bike can easily exceed 12mph and if on a proper road bike average speeds of 18mph aren't difficult.
I used to live in Surfers Paradise and would cycle daily to Nerang inland from the coast. 18mph was my usual average and I was on a knobbly tyred mountain bike which is not the easiest to maintain speed on the road.

Electric scooters are legal on the continent and as far as I'm aware don't cause any real issues over and above cycles. If a scooter takes a car off the road then I'm in favour

 

[AnthonyUK]

Electric scooters are legal on the continent and as far as I'm aware don't cause any real issues over and above cycles. If a scooter takes a car off the road then I'm in favour

In Germany at least they are treated the same as cars in some respects. It wouldn't be a bad thing here tbh

https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/oktoberfest-police-report-scli-intl-grm/index.html

 

[davidsl500]

In Germany at least they are treated the same as cars in some respects. It wouldn't be a bad thing here tbh

https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/oktoberfest-police-report-scli-intl-grm/index.html

I see they all have registration plates..

 

[ajlsl600]

When these scooters are tearing about. It's just another hazard for the already hard pressed motorist, I have seen the chaos in Paris and seen them knocking pedestrians over. At least insurance will help IF that works properly.

 

[davidsl500]

https://www.gov.uk/government/consu...-their-use/legalising-rental-e-scooter-trials

 

[malcolm E53 AMG]

Of course we experienced the ‘Mad Max’ of scooter riding in our village last night a 10 year old with his brother who looked to be about 5 stood on the footboard between him and the handlebars circuiting a housing estate pedestrians will need glasses with wing mirrors on soon I certainly wouldn’t like to be hit by one

 

[AnthonyUK]

Of course we experienced the ‘Mad Max’ of scooter riding in our village last night a 10 year old with his brother who looked to be about 5 stood on the footboard between him and the handlebars circuiting a housing estate pedestrians will need glasses with wing mirrors on soon I certainly wouldn’t like to be hit by one

I can see the C4/5 programme name - Terrorised by 10 year olds.

 

[LostKiwi]

Of course we experienced the ‘Mad Max’ of scooter riding in our village last night a 10 year old with his brother who looked to be about 5 stood on the footboard between him and the handlebars circuiting a housing estate pedestrians will need glasses with wing mirrors on soon I certainly wouldn’t like to be hit by one

Legalised or not you'll still get that.