E-Scooters are lethal as transport

[classic33]

Interestingly I have recently been perusing data from the trial of e-scooters and e-bikes that has been ongoing in Bristol and South Gloucestershire since the end of October 2020. The trial was originally slated to run for one year but because of Covid the DfT extended that twice before handing it over to the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) who have currently licensed it until late 2027. Success or failure is being judged on 4 metrics and the results (which are being analyses by the University of Bristol and the University of the West of England) so far are ~
1. Modal Shift & Public Transport Integration
• Car Replacement Met Target: The trial successfully displaced cars, with 30% to 36% of e-scooter trips replacing journeys that would have otherwise been taken by car or taxi. In the first year alone, this accounted for over 1 million replaced car trips.
• Transit Synergy: The "first/last mile" metric scored well, with 10% to 20% of journeys being used directly in combination with public transport (such as commuting to and from Bristol Temple Meads).
• Active Travel Displacement: A noted drawback in the UWE evaluation showed that the remaining 60%+ of rides replaced walking (35%), bus use (19%), or traditional cycling (15%), meaning the trial heavily cannibalised other green transit methods.
2. Safety and Casualties
• The "Safety in Numbers" Success: A landmark University of Bristol study published in Injury Prevention found that introducing the e-scooter scheme reduced overall serious and fatal bicycle collisions by 20%. Researchers concluded that more micro-mobility users on the road forced drivers to behave more cautiously.
• User vs. Non-User Perception: While 70% of e-scooter riders reported feeling safe, general public perception remains divided due to pedestrian near-misses.
3. Environmental and Infrastructure Impact
• Carbon Savings: WECA confirmed that the high volume of car displacement resulted in a net reduction in regional travel-related carbon emissions.
• Pavement Clutter Failure: Street scene management was heavily criticized. The evaluation highlighted that poorly parked e-scooters frequently obstructed footways, negatively impacting blind and partially sighted pedestrians. However, tracking data showed riders generally rode correctly, with over 96% of e-scooters staying on the carriageway/cycle lanes rather than mounting pavements.
4. Accessibility and Social Inclusion
• High Uptake: Bristol became the most heavily utilized trial fleet in the UK, with roughly 1 in 15 residents (7%) actively using the system monthly.
• Demographic Imbalance: The trial failed to achieve equal demographic reach. The vast majority of active users (81% to 84%) were concentrated entirely within the 18-to-34 age bracket, and predominantly skewed male.

So far as the relevant authorities are concerned this trial is a success overall. Public opinion, or maybe perception, may be different. I regularly see kids riding the scooters - which should not be possible but suggests they are using a parent's account - often two or three up. Pavements are still littered with discarded bikes and scooters - I'm fed up of reporting them where I live - and I rarely see anyone riding on the road but we all know how dangerous that can be so maybe I shouldn't be surprised. This last observation flies in the face of Dott's data. There has been a notable drop in the number of hire scooters and bikes around since the local university broke up for the year and a corresponding increase in the number of unused ones littering the pavements.

Bristol City Council data shows that there are an average of 100 incidents involving e-scooters/bikes per year in the city but they don't have a breakdown between legal and illegal ones, which feels like a bit of a failure considering the safety and casualty metric.

Wouldn't those running the scooters involved in the trial, have accident rates. Their e-scooters are registered, if not in the same as way as any other class of moped on the roads.

 

[Bristolian]

Wouldn't those running the scooters involved in the trial, have accident rates. Their e-scooters are registered, if not in the same as way as any other class of moped on the roads.

Oh, I'm sure they do but they also have a vested interest in making the trial appear to be a success.

Even when I have sent them photographic evidence of scooters being ridden by school children they always respond with a copy of the hiring and use rules with a statement that every hirer is required to have an account and to have provided a copy of their drivers' license when opening the account. There is no actual check at the point of hiring one of the scooters/bikes hence my comment about kids using their parent's accounts.

 

[classic33]

Oh, I'm sure they do but they also have a vested interest in making the trial appear to be a success.

Even when I have sent them photographic evidence of scooters being ridden by school children they always respond with a copy of the hiring and use rules with a statement that every hirer is required to have an account and to have provided a copy of their drivers' license when opening the account. There is no actual check at the point of hiring one of the scooters/bikes hence my comment about kids using their parent's accounts.

Seen too many who shouldn't be able to use them in Leeds, now a trial city, to not believe there's a workaround being used.

Wonder if the council or police could take action on abandoned vehicles causing a danger to pedestrians and other road users.

 

[mjr]

https://www.theguardian.com/science...-dangerous-than-motorbikes-or-cycles-analysis

It always looked obvious, especially so with potholes often deeper than the wheels.

As the report doesn't distinguish legal and illegal e-scooters, it's not very informative. I think we all knew that many of the illegal ones are dangerous in themselves or ridden recklessly, and they far outnumber the legal ones. It would be much more useful to know if the legal ones are safer.

 

[Drago]

The legal ones pivot over the front wheel just as easily as the illegal ones.

The three deaths I aforementioned were all legal trial scooters. Two were riders, a third was an old boy who tried to move one that had been dumped blocking the path. He fell and died of his injuries.

 

[SteveH80]

First there was the penny farthing, a ridiculously dangerous design so we invented the safety bicycle and everyone was much happier and less maimed.
Later people started riding, and falling off, kick scooters. We all concluded the where design almost as stupid as the penny farthing so moved on.
I know, said someone, let's put a small petrol motor on a kick scooter. After a few crashes the idea was put on the crowded 'bloody stupid idea' shelf in preference to safer motorcycles and scooter designs.
Many years later the motorised kickscooter was brought back, only this time using an electric motor. What could possibly go wrong?
It's evolution in action... 🙂

 

[Drago]

I wonder if the edrsre of Charles Darwin owns the e scooter patents?

 

[Mr.B-Campag]

Interestingly I have recently been perusing data from the trial of e-scooters and e-bikes that has been ongoing in Bristol and South Gloucestershire since the end of October 2020. The trial was originally slated to run for one year but because of Covid the DfT extended that twice before handing it over to the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) who have currently licensed it until late 2027. Success or failure is being judged on 4 metrics and the results (which are being analyses by the University of Bristol and the University of the West of England) so far are ~
1. Modal Shift & Public Transport Integration
• Car Replacement Met Target: The trial successfully displaced cars, with 30% to 36% of e-scooter trips replacing journeys that would have otherwise been taken by car or taxi. In the first year alone, this accounted for over 1 million replaced car trips.
• Transit Synergy: The "first/last mile" metric scored well, with 10% to 20% of journeys being used directly in combination with public transport (such as commuting to and from Bristol Temple Meads).
• Active Travel Displacement: A noted drawback in the UWE evaluation showed that the remaining 60%+ of rides replaced walking (35%), bus use (19%), or traditional cycling (15%), meaning the trial heavily cannibalised other green transit methods.
2. Safety and Casualties
• The "Safety in Numbers" Success: A landmark University of Bristol study published in Injury Prevention found that introducing the e-scooter scheme reduced overall serious and fatal bicycle collisions by 20%. Researchers concluded that more micro-mobility users on the road forced drivers to behave more cautiously.
• User vs. Non-User Perception: While 70% of e-scooter riders reported feeling safe, general public perception remains divided due to pedestrian near-misses.
3. Environmental and Infrastructure Impact
• Carbon Savings: WECA confirmed that the high volume of car displacement resulted in a net reduction in regional travel-related carbon emissions.
• Pavement Clutter Failure: Street scene management was heavily criticized. The evaluation highlighted that poorly parked e-scooters frequently obstructed footways, negatively impacting blind and partially sighted pedestrians. However, tracking data showed riders generally rode correctly, with over 96% of e-scooters staying on the carriageway/cycle lanes rather than mounting pavements.
4. Accessibility and Social Inclusion
• High Uptake: Bristol became the most heavily utilized trial fleet in the UK, with roughly 1 in 15 residents (7%) actively using the system monthly.
• Demographic Imbalance: The trial failed to achieve equal demographic reach. The vast majority of active users (81% to 84%) were concentrated entirely within the 18-to-34 age bracket, and predominantly skewed male.

So far as the relevant authorities are concerned this trial is a success overall. Public opinion, or maybe perception, may be different. I regularly see kids riding the scooters - which should not be possible but suggests they are using a parent's account - often two or three up. Pavements are still littered with discarded bikes and scooters - I'm fed up of reporting them where I live - and I rarely see anyone riding on the road but we all know how dangerous that can be so maybe I shouldn't be surprised. This last observation flies in the face of Dott's data. There has been a notable drop in the number of hire scooters and bikes around since the local university broke up for the year and a corresponding increase in the number of unused ones littering the pavements.

Bristol City Council data shows that there are an average of 100 incidents involving e-scooters/bikes per year in the city but they don't have a breakdown between legal and illegal ones, which feels like a bit of a failure considering the safety and casualty metric.

At least as described, this does sound broadly positive (and I'm no fan of the things). However, it would be interesting to see how it stacks up in a proper cost benefit analysis. For example, what are the health impacts of the modal shift element? You've got some people moving from passive forms of transport to another, and then a larger number moving from active forms. How do the (negative) health impacts of this weigh against the casualty reduction figures? What is the impact on bus financing - are the local authority having to subsidize buses more as a result of reduced ridership? Could that lead to bus services being reduced? What is the extent of trip generation and the impact on congestion i.e. longer term if this reduces road congestion you'd expect the roads to fill back up over time (as generalised costs fall).

More practically, I'm sure it can't be that hard to incentivise the hire scooter owners to minimise the number of these things being left on pavements. If not, they need to cost this negative externality on pedestrians and visual (dis)amenity.

 

[Drago]

Just end the trials, ban their sale, ruthlessly enforce them when encountered on the roads. Problem solved within 6 months.

 

[steveindenmark]

If you have ever ridden a Brompton, you would know how twitchy they are because of the small wheels. I can see why e scooters are dangerous.

 

[Badger_Boom]

Just end the trials, ban their sale, ruthlessly enforce them when encountered on the roads. Problem solved within 6 months.

Yes, but then police don't seem to have the manpower to "ruthlessly enforce" any laws these days.

 

[mjr]

If you have ever ridden a Brompton, you would know how twitchy they are because of the small wheels. I can see why e scooters are dangerous.

They may be twitchy, but people rarely faceplant from them. More often, they just slide forwards off the saddle. Would e-scooters be safer with a seat on a pole, or 16 inch wheels?

 

[Deeferdonk]

If you have ever ridden a Brompton, you would know how twitchy they are because of the small wheels. I can see why e scooters are dangerous.

That sounds a bit negative. I would call it being more responsive

 

[johnnyb47]

Whilst in Tenerife last year I often went to the same bar that overlooked the street and would enjoy a few beers watching the world go by.
The street had wide pathways each side,and the one way traffic was restricted to 20mph.
The first thing that struck me was the amount of e scooters (there was more of them coming down the road than cars) but they were all being used sensibly and courteously.The users were even stopping to let people cross the road on the pelican crossing.
It got me thinking that this sort of thing would never be seen in the UK even if they were to be made legal.
Over here I can only imagine it would be a carnage with scooters being ridden on pavements dodging around people and generally ignoring traffic law's.

 

[Drago]

The great British public cant be trusted, are incapable of being sensible or courteous.