E-scooters to be allowed on public roads

[classic33]

I actually checked and couldn't find any reference to mis-selling of e-scooters

pretty much everything else short of suing weather forecasts for getting wet - just not scooter

yet

any ambulance chasing lawyers on here???

If the retailer/seller fails to point out, before purchase, that it can't legally be used on the public highway, they can be done for mis-selling.

 

[Time Waster]

I've learnt a new word, blatting as in blatting around. I don't need a definition as it's kind of self explanatory, but I am curious about its origins.

I love every opportunity to learn that forums such as this offer.

 

[Time Waster]

I was in a large halfords at the weekend and the smaller than previous visits escooter display had a warning change to a more indefinite may be illegal or might be not be legal in some circumstances. Or something similar. Previously the sign was in small print and low down but actually said it was illegal to use on public roads.

Has any laws been changed? I thought only trial scheme, rental escooters were legal on public roads when used within the area of the scheme.

A local guy had what he called an ebike. It was very roughly bicycle shaped, albeit with a chunky frame for the battery. It did have escooter sized wheels but there was a pedalling function you could use if say the battery ran out. Anyway he stopped taking the train for awhile and when he came back there was no bike contraption. Apparently the train company saw it as an escooter and stopped him getting on when coming home once and from then on.

 

[Time Waster]

Another anecdote from recent escooterish observations, I saw a sit down on escooter this weekend. Only briefly as it pulled into the road ahead of me and left me behind. I was in my van driving at 25mph which I thought was the fastest speed I feel safe driving in considering the road and what was around. I was going at the same speed as other motorists albeit with a bit of a gap between us. The escooterist left me behind and scooted past the car ahead on the inside at a T junction on a 90 degrees bend. Took a right turn too!

Now my sense of rule following was twinning badly! It does annoy me so when people do things on the road that's dangerous. Even if they're likely to be the only ones seriously hurt. Even a furiously pedalling cyclist could hurt a pedestrian so I have a low threshold for such behaviour by any road user. But there's nothing that can be done. The roads are the new wild, wild west without law enforcement! What a world we live in!?!

 

[captain nemo1701]

I've seen a guy more than once in the last week riding an e-scooter (small wheeled type) on the road doing 30-40mph. He looks like an absolute liability but there is little chance of him being stopped. Always has his face totally covered with no helmet (obvs)

The worst part is I saw him hop up onto a pavement when traffic started to queue and he carried on riding at 30+

Seen that too. There are guys on the B2B path on top end escooters, one I regularly see decked out in full face motorbike helmet, mirrored ski goggles, gloves, elbow pads etc. He ain't going for a TIER hire escooter pootle at 15mph....not on his big escooter, probably capable of about 40mph.

Then there are the we-are-too-cool guys as stated, no helmets just something wrapped around their face like they're anticipating a desert sandstorm I've seen riding uphill estimated at 30mph, overtaking guys on fast carbon road bikes going downhill (and some of my fellow cyclists do go a tad too fast!!). These escooter guys don't care, go at full tilt swerving around peds down in the section running through Easton - lots of schoolkids about early in the morning. They don't seem to have any grasp of roadcraft either, the general attitude being 'I can ride anywhere I want'.

 

[captain nemo1701]

I was in a large halfords at the weekend and the smaller than previous visits escooter display had a warning change to a more indefinite may be illegal or might be not be legal in some circumstances. Or something similar. Previously the sign was in small print and low down but actually said it was illegal to use on public roads.

Has any laws been changed? I thought only trial scheme, rental escooters were legal on public roads when used within the area of the scheme.

A local guy had what he called an ebike. It was very roughly bicycle shaped, albeit with a chunky frame for the battery. It did have escooter sized wheels but there was a pedalling function you could use if say the battery ran out. Anyway he stopped taking the train for awhile and when he came back there was no bike contraption. Apparently the train company saw it as an escooter and stopped him getting on when coming home once and from then on.

Halfords, unsurprisingly, are pushing for legalisation...£££££ in sales. I saw two escooters in Currys a while back...marketed at kids, pink for girls, blue for boys. I did read a story about a police chief who berated Selfridges in London for selling a 50mph model.

IMHO, the trials have encouraged private uptake in anticipation of legalisation. There was a foolish guy last year in Bristol who had an escooter confiscated by the fuzz...so splashed out £3500 on a bigger one...which got confiscated again . His excuse in the local rag?....'I thought they'd be legalised'...and these people can vote!.

Some blokes on escooters I see wear full Hi Viz, including orange for railway work. Wonder if they're heading off to site on one?. I expect any site with good H&S would ban them from attending.

 

[captain nemo1701]

Another anecdote from recent escooterish observations, I saw a sit down on escooter this weekend. Only briefly as it pulled into the road ahead of me and left me behind. I was in my van driving at 25mph which I thought was the fastest speed I feel safe driving in considering the road and what was around. I was going at the same speed as other motorists albeit with a bit of a gap between us. The escooterist left me behind and scooted past the car ahead on the inside at a T junction on a 90 degrees bend. Took a right turn too!

Now my sense of rule following was twinning badly! It does annoy me so when people do things on the road that's dangerous. Even if they're likely to be the only ones seriously hurt. Even a furiously pedalling cyclist could hurt a pedestrian so I have a low threshold for such behaviour by any road user. But there's nothing that can be done. The roads are the new wild, wild west without law enforcement! What a world we live in!?!

They remind me of that mad hi-tech wheelchair chase in Johnny English 2. I was exiting the B2B path up in Bristol once last year in the dark at the Acacia Road entrance. Only the bottom part is lit and it has a lovely 270 degree bend on the access ramp. I often push the bike up past it before remounting. So there I was, pedalling in the dark apart from my bike lights, awful asphalt path (tension cracks in it), 10ft slope drop to my left when I hear ...'veeeeeeeeee' from behind, it was a guy on a sit down escooter who shot past me at full tilt..... . Didn't seem to care I was in front, he squeezed past on my right with about 6 inches to spare and shot off. At least it had lights but was way too fast for a cyclepath.

 

[Tenkaykev]

I've learnt a new word, blatting as in blatting around. I don't need a definition as it's kind of self explanatory, but I am curious about its origins.

I love every opportunity to learn that forums such as this offer.

The word was inspired by Sepp Blatter and refers to someone who acts like a self centred plonker. 😉

 

[Alex321]

The word was inspired by Sepp Blatter and refers to someone who acts like a self centred plonker. 😉

I think the word was around a long time before he was anybody of significance.

 

[Jody]

Then there are the we-are-too-cool guys as stated, no helmets just something wrapped around their face like they're anticipating a desert sandstorm I've seen riding uphill estimated at 30mph, overtaking guys on fast carbon road bikes going downhill (and some of my fellow cyclists do go a tad too fast!!). These escooter guys don't care, go at full tilt swerving around peds down in the section running through Easton - lots of schoolkids about early in the morning. They don't seem to have any grasp of roadcraft either, the general attitude being 'I can ride anywhere I want'.

One of the most detrimental things round here was the removal of the Police helicopter. It really helped deter illegal MX

There's no roadcraft as they've probably never held a license and have little chance of being caught.

 

[AndyRM]

I've learnt a new word, blatting as in blatting around. I don't need a definition as it's kind of self explanatory, but I am curious about its origins.

I love every opportunity to learn that forums such as this offer.

I've only ever heard it as a really ancient coding term for taking out lines of code. Dunno where Drago's version comes from, colloquialism I suppose.

As for scooters, there's a few round here, but there's a load of traffic calming measures which are seriously effective. Seen some folk ruin their lowered Corsas by reckoning they look innocuous.

 

[Alex321]

I've only ever heard it as a really ancient coding term for taking out lines of code. Dunno where Drago's version comes from, colloquialism I suppose.

Probably. I know I've been aware of it for years in the sense he uses it of belting around rather noisily, and probably too high a speed.

But I can't find much reference to that meaning in online dictionaries.

As for scooters, there's a few round here, but there's a load of traffic calming measures which are seriously effective. Seen some folk ruin their lowered Corsas by reckoning they look innocuous.

Any measures which don't cover the whole width of the road won't have much effect on scooters, I would have thought.

 

[AndyRM]

Probably. I know I've been aware of it for years in the sense he uses it of belting around rather noisily, and probably too high a speed.

But I can't find much reference to that meaning in online dictionaries.



Any measures which don't cover the whole width of the road won't have much effect on scooters, I would have thought.

Where they're not full width, the slalom effect they create means that you'd better be able to handle your bike like Rossi on methamphetamine, or you're in big trouble.

 

[Greasy Gilbert]

People are so lazy and feckless these days that anything they can use to prevent them from actually putting effort into doing something is bound to appeal.
When someone invents the eSedanchair, all these scooters will be on Bumtree before you know it.

 

[AndyRM]