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Bird e-scooters at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park (copyright Simon MacMichael).JPEGGovernment to remind retailers and hire firms of law after TV presenter becomes first e-scooter rider to die in UK
The government is reportedly set to remind retailers of the law regarding the use of electric scooters after a woman riding one was killed in a collision with a lorry in London on Friday – the first recorded fatality of someone using one in the UK.
Emily Hartridge, aged 35, who found fame via YouTube and went on to present a number of TV shows, was killed while riding her e-scooter at Queen’s Circus roundabout in Battersea, reports the Guardian.
In July last year, cyclist Shane Hammond was killed at the roundabout, which lies on the route of Cycle Superhighway 8, in a collision involving a bin lorry.
While e-scooters are an increasingly common sight in the capital, currently it is illegal to ride them on the road or the pavement, although the government said in May that it is considering whether the law should change.
The newspaper reports that transport minister Michael Ellis will today meet with representatives of Halfords and e-scooter hire companies Halfords and scooter share firms Lime, B Mobility and Bird to remind them that people buying or hiring e-scooters must be informed of the law beforehand.
He said: “Micromobility products are appearing in countries across the globe and are an exciting innovation for which we know there is demand.
“However, safety must always be our top priority when considering their use on public highways in this country.
“The government is considering this as part of its regulatory review, as announced in March in the [Future of Mobility: Urban Strategy [review].
“We are examining whether they can be used safely on the road – and if so, how that should be regulated to ensure the public’s safety. However, companies must understand that reviewing laws does not necessarily mean laws will change.
“People who use e-scooters need to be aware it is currently illegal to ride them on the pavement and the road,” he added.
The roundabout where Ms Hartridge was killed underwent a redesign in 2015 and became the first in the city to seek to physically separate cyclists from motor vehicles.
Wandsworth Council had billed it as being inspired by the Netherlands – although campaigners said that it failed to meet Dutch design standards and was “hugely complicated” for cyclists to negotiate.
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
Latest Comments
- ktache 4 sec ago
They could put in a "magic roundabout" Swindonish, but that would really freak them out.
- David9694 1 hour 20 min ago
BAM!
- chrisonabike 1 hour 43 min ago
Another perrenial again - who is still driving with the most points (229 the current winner)? Meanwhile m'learned friend comes out to defend the...
- IanGlasgow 1 hour 56 min ago
"Polartec Power Shield RPM fabric – which has a 10,000mm hydro head to keep wet weather out, and an industry-leading breathability spec of 30,000g...
- mdavidford 2 hours 59 min ago
Oxfordshire councils are quite capable of letting you down too!...
- lesterama 3 hours 2 min ago
Why not have a 5mph speed limit as part of the ETRO? Only a dick would ride fast through an otherwise pedestrianised street.
- levestane 3 hours 13 min ago
'each spoke' (single) and 'leaf spring' (made of many leaves) seems contradictory.
- PenLaw 4 hours 5 min ago
I guess Morrissey could claim it.
- wtjs 4 hours 31 min ago
I do see a lot of delivery riders (on illegal e-motorbikes) with their faces covered...
- David9694 5 hours 11 min ago
Stuff like this seems more relevant than ever after the Trump victory. sorry not a funny
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32 comments
Best to regulate them, in terms of making clear where they can and cannot be ridden, max speed before motor cutout, etc. Or else ban them entirely. I don't think banning them would work but it would be better than the current no rules situation in which they (and various other wheeled devices like electric skateboards and those electric monowheel things) are neither legal nor illegal.
Who's "being paranoid"? I related a story of a single incident to back up my assertion that the police (/management/politicians) are more interested in policing cyclists than drivers. Sure, that was anecdata, but police crackdowns on poor cycling are a common occurrence, certainly on my route into the City. Police crackdowns on poor driving, less so. My point isn't that poor cycling should go unpunished, more that poor driving doesn't get the same scrutiny, in my experience as both a cyclist and driver.
No point making laws if the current police force lacks the resources to enforce them. 99% of the time, police ignore these things because they have other issues that are higher up on the list that needs to be dealt with or have their focus rather than chasing down people on scooters for a finger wagging.
The goverment can keep telling the police to do a better and make do with what they've been given meanwhile there are police veterans who leave the force everyday because its just become too stressful and they are being pulled in every direction and expected to do more for less and that's one of the reasons why Londons streets are rife with gangs, stabbings and moped thieves.
They seem to find enough resources to regularly bother riders in London. Last year, I was given a stern ticking off for positioning myself ahead of the stop line at the front of a queue of traffic that had filled the ASL box. The jobsworth in blue even made me dismount, walk back along the pavement and position myself between the kerb and a queuing car. He didn't say a word to the driver who was sat in the ASL.
Not really. Sometimes they are running a safe driving/cycling campaign or operation so they will pull cyclists over for jumping a redlight or even 'shoddy positioning' in your case.
I have been in central london where the METs bicycle unit have been pulling cyclists and drivers over .
Maybe the one that pulled you over was new to the force or hadnt had his shreddies yet. But your treatment was definitely uncalled for.
You could of taken his details and submitted it to police complaints out of principle. But when people are leaving and nobody wants to join because of stress, abuse from inside and outside the force - be it racisim or sexisim then the MET have to find some candidates to fill in the gaps and sometimes these arent the best candidates for the job but they have no choice.
I have been sat next to a copper at a set of traffic lights, a cyclist pushes past me and jumps a red light. I turn to the cop next to me and point at the guy who just jumped a red and he just shrugs at me.
I worked in a retail for 6 years and reported thefts multiple times then i was told that the same suspect had to have committed theft at least 3 times before they would take any sort of action let alone come down and view the CCTV footage.
Had i been the shop owner and taken a baseball bat to the hand of the shoplifter twho had been stealing from my shop non-stop to deter him from coming back and doing it again. I would be the bad guy and the one sitting in jail.
The current police force are in a right shitty state thanks to the previous and current government.
When police numbers have fallen into the red as they have. They need to dredge the bottom of the barrel for candidates to push into the job and this obviously has drastic effects on the quality and standard of policing.
Not all of them are bad though and they do a solid job but the stress is killing them
Yes really. The case you're referring to was not shoddy positioning - it was somebody trying to stay in a safe position who was forced into a dangerous position by somebody who should have been trying to help them stay safe.
Well keep being paranoid that every Bobby on the beat has a vendetta against cyclists. Ive never been stopped in all my 5 years of commuting
It's not paranoia to notice that almost all cops are drivers and only a small minority are cyclists. They see the world largely through a car windscreen and that influences their attitudes. A 'vendetta'? No. A skewed perspective? Definitely.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V76mtNixdCE
Legal to sell but not legal to use except on private land.
Makes you wonder what safety advice is given - what's the stopping distance?
If they are illegal why is the gov. having a meeting to advise hire companies that they need to include small print informing any potential hirer they cannot ride the damn things from the hire location? They are selling something that is illegal, but any person seeing what appears to be a legitimate business operating would fairly assume it is ok to use them. Stop the sales and hire companies from peddling (or is that non pedalling) illegal goods until the law is changed.
I do think they are good, but suspect there will be far more pedestrian incidents with these than with cycles.
Condolences to her family.
I see the BBC is focusing on helmets rather than motor cycle style boots, leathers, knee elbow protection.
Only one brake...
Tax, licence, number plates, insurance and mandatory helmet. That should ensure nobody ever does anything illegal or stupid on one.
I don't see what dockless bike hire has in common with personal eScooter use - am I missing something?
I was in Munich last week and there are loads of them there now. The cycle lanes in Munich are pretty good and the scooter riders use those, along with the bikes. I have to say that Munich cyclists often ride pretty quickly on shared paths and you have to be on your toes if you're walking (pun intended). If you're a pedestrian, they also expect you to jump out of the way pronto if you stray onto a dedicated cycle lane. Introducing e-scooters hasn't changed the situation with regard to safety (for pedestrians or cyclists) much as far as I can tell.
My kids have taken great delight in charging about Munich on these.
I have seen e-scooters for sale in the UK and some of these allow speeds up to 32km/h (20mph), which is a concern. They're supposed to be restricted to 25km/h.
I was in Paris at easter and use of the things has exploded there since last summer. I think both Bird and Lime are present and frankly I found them a PITA - used at high speed on crowded pavements, and then just dropped whereever when done with so it was maze-like trying to negotiate piles of the things in central touristic areas - though the same criticism could be levelled at dockless bike shares I guess.
Conceptually I don't have a big problem with them, but there need to be (enforced - ha!) rules as to where they can be used. In terms of safety, what about lighting? Front light is fine, but what about a back light? I also can't imagine the wheel size combined with what frequently passes as a bike lane in the UK/Ireland is a lot of fun - never mind the pothole, the drains, sunken or not, must be lethal
Really? You see so many of them out and about, I'd just assumed it was all good
Which is where making clear laws will help rather than brandishing every owner an irresponsible lout (like what us cyclists are).
The problem is that unlike cars, these will probably also be ridden on the pavement at speed.
If scooters law can be changed to get away with electric motors then cycle law will need to be changed as well. Electric bikes should be able to do at least 20mph under their own steam.
They're not though - they're all on the roads. They're far too quick for pavements, and it seems their owners realise this. If I was a lazy fecker, I'd buy one
Don't forget that studies have found that the "lack of infrastructure/it's unsafe" reason given by many people for taking the car rather than cycling is actually a cover for "I'm too lazy". eScooters are the answer to this and, if they tempt more drivers out of cars in favour of a mode of transport where they are vulnerable to bad driving, that's a win for utility cycling too.
They're not though - they're all on the roads. They're far too quick for pavements, and it seems their owners realise this. If I was a lazy fecker, I'd buy one
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You may live in an ok area but some places are a bit more lawless. The same places that end up with stupid blanket bans on cycling in certain town areas due to chavs on bikes.
They're not though - they're all on the roads. They're far too quick for pavements, and it seems their owners realise this. If I was a lazy fecker, I'd buy one.....
I'm in Malta at the moment and they're all over the place. On the roads, on the pavements, cutting between the two, in areas that are prohibited for cyclists, complete lack of hand signals as the rider is using their spare hand to use their mobile phone.
The pavements here are generally wide enough to allow two people to pass without banging into each other. Given the state of of UK pavements they will be a major hazard.
Could also be a short way in for the government to introduce compulsory helmets for all road users not in cars/vans/lorries etc.
How many deaths will they cause, say compared to motorists using their conveyance on the 'pavement' who kill and maim a shit ton already?
Got any predictions given your obvious didain for them and clearly think they are going to be a bigger threat than motorvehicles.
i look forward to the CH5 documentary escooters the scourge of our roads
Good news. Don't need the general idiot populace banging about on these things, vapid social media types, probably livestreaming like Casey bignose whilst they ride.
People with motability scooters are bad enough without these things as well. People say lycra is embarrassing but I'd rather walk around in lycra with no bike than be seen on a scooter.
Just cycle. Car drivers will rank people on scooters even lower than cyclists if they use the roads.
Flame away.
Can't say I'm a fan of the things, but if a sufficient proportion of the 'general idiot population' started using them, maybe it would become feasable to make at least some roads 'scooter and bicycle only'? Which, notwithstanding the known issues both with scooters and with idiots, would be a marked improvement on the current situation (where we face a synergy of clods and cars).
There are, after all, a _lot_ of idiots out there, so if a share of them were to defect from the car-lobby to a scooter-lobby that could be very useful. Divide-and-rule has a proven track record. And if recent history has proved anything it's that if you can get the idiots on-side you are a large part of the way towards achieveing your aims.
I'm wondering if there's an e-scootercc featuring close passes from you then falling on your arse when chasing after these unhelmeted, red light jumping scourges of our streets...
Please be aware that your comment refering to a prominent Jewish YouTube celebrity as "big nose" may be considered anti-Semitic.
I'm ok. I joined the Labour Party. Corbyn approved.
These have been legal for a while in Norway, with a number of restrictions on motor power, top speed, and not being allowed to have a seat . . . However as with the "scoot" electric bikes which seem to be the worlds easiest to deactivate the "motor stops when you don't pedal" system, which have been running around as unregistered electric mopeds, the majority of the e-scooters I see are larger motor, and higher speed illegal variants with seats.
For my mind, to be street legal they should withstand the road surfaces available, which from what I see in the UK is often mote pothole than road, so if someone comes up with an electric version of the kick-bike ( http://kickbike.no/kickbike/kickbike-sport-g4/ ) I'd be all for that... Bigger front wheel means far less chance of going ar$e over 7i7 on an uneven flagstone or pothole.
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