E Scooters > on the road

[Bazzer]

A certain well known car accessory chain wants to hold a 'debate' on legalisation ie. since they want to flog & profit from them.

If it's the one beginning with H, they are flogging them already.
Earlier this year Mrs B and I took our granddaughter to Manchester Arndale. One of the sports wear/equipment retailers in there was selling ones which openly advertised on the boxes they exceeded 15mph.

 

[captain nemo1701]

If it's the one beginning with H, they are flogging them already.
Earlier this year Mrs B and I took our granddaughter to Manchester Arndale. One of the sports wear/equipment retailers in there was selling ones which openly advertised on the boxes they exceeded 15mph.

A shop local to me is advertising ones that do 25-30 mph....that's nice...imagine them on pavements & cyclepaths.

 

[PK99]

A shop local to me is advertising ones that do 25-30 mph....that's nice...imagine them on pavements & cyclepaths.

I'm 3 weeks into rehab of a dislocated shoulder - still in a sling in public as a visible sign of vulnerability.

One pavement cyclist has already found that my good shoulder is not a good thing to bounce off.

I would have no problem in presenting a shoulder to a pavement scooterist and bracing for impact.

 

[captain nemo1701]

https://ebiketips.road.cc/content/news/selfridges-criticised-for-selling-50mph-e-scooter-3491

What can go wrong

We ban 30 mph mopeds from cyclepaths and these feckin' things come along.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

In my opinion every vehicle - powered or not - should have to have an effective 'warning device' to use when approaching other road/pavement users
This would, of course, involve all scooters - powered or not

I know some on here would recoil in horror at the idea of adding a non aero, non carbon device to their road bikes - especially as it will weigh at least a couple of grammes - but tough - shouting just doesn't work!

Also - having the device automatically implies that maybe - just maybe - the rider/driver should use it to warn people

In my opinion - of course - and according to my wife my opinions are not always correct - apparently
other opinions are available

 

[mjr]

We ban 30 mph mopeds from cyclepaths and these feckin' things come along.

Mopeds on cycleways seemed to be a Bristol area thing. They were never allowed in MK or Norwich, as far as I know.

20mph seems a bit high for scooters. Hit a pothole faster than you can run and it seems unlikely to end well and few can sprint at 20, as far as I can tell. 15mph would cover far more.

 

[Saluki]

Mopeds on cycleways seemed to be a Bristol area thing. They were never allowed in MK or Norwich, as far as I know.

20mph seems a bit high for scooters. Hit a pothole faster than you can run and it seems unlikely to end well and few can sprint at 20, as far as I can tell. 15mph would cover far more.

They might not be allowed in Norwich but you see plenty of them buzzing along The Marriotts, or in the cycle lanes. Some big-ish motors too. Local bylaws don’t stop people doing exactly as they please.

 

[mjr]

They might not be allowed in Norwich but you see plenty of them buzzing along The Marriotts, or in the cycle lanes. Some big-ish motors too. Local bylaws don’t stop people doing exactly as they please.

Maybe but mopeds were for some years formally allowed in many cycleways in the Bristol area, with signs to match!

 

[Saluki]

Maybe but mopeds were for some years formally allowed in many cycleways in the Bristol area, with signs to match!

Ah, I see what you mean. I misread your post.

 

[Stephenite]

Is there anyone here that has one or has ridden one? I imagine you have to have your wits about you on potholed roads.

I've mentioned it on other threads but it appears to get drowned out within a couple of posts.

I've had one for about 2 and a half years. (Technically, the gf/partner has one because i bought it for her.) And we love it. It has been the perfect vehicle for delivering the little girl to kindergarten and, now, school.

Oh yes, and we ride it legally. We live in Norway. Norway is much like the UCK. But, slightly different.

Of course, they are more twitchy than a bicycle, which has larger wheels, and a different centre of gravity, and all the rest of it but, really, you get used to it and you ride accordingly. You know, like looking ahead, slowing down, shifting your weight backwards - that sort of thing. We've not had an issue with it. The tarmac over here can get pretty messed up over the course of the winter and then it gets patched up in the spring. Resulting in quite a 3-dimensional road surface after a few years. Before they scrape it off to begin the process again. Having said that the roads do not have such huge potholes as is found in the UK.

Another thing:
There used to be much more illegal el-scooters about before the govt pulled their collective finger out and wrote up some laws. The police then went about and fined, and confiscated the machines of, the law-breakers. Public attitude swiftly followed. And the sales people, even more swiftly, followed suit.

It's been a great piece of kit. And, I'm not the only one who uses an el-scooter for the school run around here.

 

[Time Waster]

Used to be a guy riding a platform around a large go cart wheel that looked like a small f1 tyre. He had front and rear lights so definitely safe at night!

Used to see him fly round the corner into a side street at the foot of a steep hill in rush hour. Amazing skill! He only wore tahirt and shorts, no protection.

Then he disappeared for several months. We did see him again eventually going a lot slower round the bend and he wore a bikers jacket and trousers with leg, arm and head protection. I wonder if he had an accident?

BTW without really being for or against them as they're just a form of mobility for people. I think they've got good and bad points. Round the area I work they've replaced mtb as the mode of travel preferred by drug dealers, etc. Usually unregulated ones that do 40mph plus. But at least they have lights right.

 

[mustang1]

e-scooters: i was all for them, and I think mostly still am. But the points some of you made about it hitting a pedestrian (elderly or otherwise) while being used inconsiderately, combined with how easy they are to buy, and perhaps the low quality battery installation, has given me doubt. I still want to see them being used as they make excellent personal transport but I cannot think of a way to get the muppets off of them.

Someone above also made the point that bike infrastructure is being motorised. It's quite easy to get bikes that are illegally modified to pass the 15mph limit. Sure, the law is there to prevent it but I'm unsure how effective that is.

Skateboards (electric or otherwise) should just be banned on the streets. The number of times I've seen a skateboarder step onto the edge of it hard so it's supposed to shoot vertically upwards and they can grab it has gone wrong. What frequently happns is the skateboarder hard-steps on the edge of the skateboard and instead of it shooting vertically upwards, it goes, at speed, onto a horizontal trajectory (but slightly in the air) and hits stuff (for example, my car, or a person). Absolutely hate them. (PS: I'm sure there is a technical term for what the skateboarder is trying to accomplish).

 

[johnnyb47]

I came close to hitting a scooter Rider last night in my car.The young lad riding it, came out of no where from a dark alley and shot straight across the road in front of me totally oblivious to my presence.
I braked sharply to avoid him.
He then went down the road tailgating a car in the dark without any lights or reflective clothing.

 

[DCLane]

I came close to hitting a scooter Rider last night in my car.The young lad riding it, came out of no where from a dark alley and shot straight across the road in front of me totally oblivious to my presence.
I braked sharply to avoid him.
He then went down the road tailgating a car in the dark without any lights or reflective clothing.

That's what I've found it's like in Leeds city centre commuting home over the past 12 weeks. Add in the food delivery cyclists with no lights who don't follow the rules of the road and it's chaos.

 

[captain nemo1701]

Maybe but mopeds were for some years formally allowed in many cycleways in the Bristol area, with signs to match!

There seems to be some confusion here with bus lanes and Bristol allowed motorbikes in them in 1996. Motorbikes have never been allowed in cycleways in Bristol. Unless its an advisory cycle lane, they should not enter it unless as the HC says its 'unavoidable'. I note that some motorcyclists seem to define 'unavoidable' as 'use them whenever you like' or they 'confuse' them as being very thin bus lanes. This seems to cover mandatory lanes too. My point was that mopeds/motorbikes are banned from segregated paths but now they are becoming infested with unrestricted escooters whose riders have about the same grasp on safety and road craft as Boris Johnson has about telling the truth.
In short....none.