In my area its not just the risk of uninsured vehicle collisions . Despite there being no legal e scooter scheme we have people hurtling down footpaths at 15 -20 mph with no possibility of stopping if someone steps out of a gateway or ,suddenly changes direction etc Mostly youngsters but I did see an oap using one,albeit fairly carefully but still illegally. They could easily kill someone, especially a child or the elderly.(or themselves. Oh dear what a shame). E scooters could be an eco friendly mode of transport if restricted to a useful number of designated cycle paths. And heavily penalised and actively condemned by the public if used elsewhere. I read somewhere that police are developing a system that can stop an e scooter by disrupting its electrical systems. Maybe a system whereby legally acceptable private e scooters must display a visible registration number and also continually transmit a unique identity code using something similar to keyless entry transmissions. Use it somewhere inappropriately and who knows whether you will have been identified, by official tracker devices or even the outraged public using phone apps etc.
The legal rental schemes (in Bristol and Bath it's Voi) do some of that.
- You can't rent one unless you have at least a provisional licence (which means points can be added), and you have to do an online training course before your first hire
- They have lights (including brake lights and indicators), bells, visible ID plates and insurance
- They are geo-fenced so can only be used in certain areas, and are speed-limited in some locations. Although this isn't good enough to prevent use on footpaths alongside roads.
- They are tracked by GPS
- They are only legally allowed anywhere cycling is allowed (so roads, cycle paths, and shared paths)
- Voi are keen to protect their reputation during the trial period, and operate a "3 strikes and you're out" policy. But someone has to report them.
None of that prevents them being used illegally (eg on pavements or with two riders) unless someone's quick enough to read the ID plate and report them. And of course none of that applies to the illegal privately-owned scooters that are being sold with no controls whatsoever.