E-scooters to be allowed on public roads

[captain nemo1701]

"In a survey - looking at use by locals (ie not tourists so perhaps relevant to most UK cities except London and Edinburgh) 8% of e-scooter use was a substitute for driving, a third was instead of using public transport and over half was 'instead of' walking. So not much 'getting people out of cars'. And inferred adverse health effects by reducing casual but beneficial physical exercise (walking)"

I stand with Drago, they seem to appeal to the bone idle brigade whose legs won't work properly.

 

[vickster]

Scooters are even easier to chuck into the canal, so won't be any in Manchester - give it a week.

£1k Or higher deposit on a swiped credit card should limit

 

[Drago]

These vehicles have been successfully (sort of) operating in Paris for over a year now. Have to say I found them a challenge riding alongside them (on a bike in traffic) as they exhibited limited discipline eg lanes etc. So presumably the accident rate through 'pothole interaction' has been sufficiently low.
I think there is merit in setting the governor limit to 12mph (rather than 15) to increase safety. In London you'd still get round faster than a car (door to door).
Would also help the police discriminate (in a good way) between legal and illegal (ie ungoverned) vehicles.
And I hope they're kept on roads and (by law) off any thoroughfare where pedestrians are moving (eg shared paths). Cyclists can hold their own (alongside 15mph max e-bikes).
https://www.wired.com/story/paris-escooters-regulation/
In a survey - looking at use by locals (ie not tourists so perhaps relevant to most UK cities except London and Edinburgh) 8% of e-scooter use was a substitute for driving, a third was instead of using public transport and over half was 'instead of' walking. So not much 'getting people out of cars'. And inferred adverse health effects by reducing casual but beneficial physical exercise (walking).

Except the scheme in Paris hasn't been regarded as a success. More a lukewarm "meh". As time goes by it is drawing increasing criticism from Parisiennes who are getting fed up with the antics of the users and the litter problem, and it must be bad if even the French are starting to criticise the road manners of the users. That's akin to Svlad the Impaler complaining there are too many heads on stakes cluttering the place up.

And we must urge caution. What works abroad rarely translates successfully to here, with different laws, culture and tolerance levels. Even within the British isles things doesn't always translate from one nation to another - all day drinking regulations passed with little problem in Scotland during the trials, but it's been carnage in England since its introduction,

The government are right to want to trial it here under controlled circumstances, and right to research what has happened elsewhere but also right to regard the overseas experience as not being automatically applicable to the UK.

 

[dodgy]

Must admit, I was initially enthusiastic at the idea of electric scooters, I honestly really wanted one. Put a bit more thought into it of late and think it's a retrograde step. We already have options - walking, cycling, adult scooters etc.

 

[dodgy]

Paris video today, seems to be a few using scooters.

View: https://twitter.com/bencoates1/status/1278588429006143490

 

[Joey Shabadoo]

Don't see that they're any different from bikes tbh.

 

[Dwn]

I passed (he was going on the opposite direction) one today in Glasgow. He was going pretty fast, but I wondered how such small wheels coped with poor surfaces. A lot of potholes could easily swallow the entire wheel.

 

[Ajax Bay]

One pothole could easily swallow an entire front wheel.

FTFY

 

[Joey Shabadoo]

View: https://www.reddit.com/r/funny/comments/hkb7pb/wtf_is_going_on_here/

 

[captain nemo1701]

Don't see that they're any different from bikes tbh.

Top of the range model due in the UK in September can do...100kph. I don't think we need fools riding those on the road or cyclepath.

 

[Electric_Andy]

Don't see that they're any different from bikes tbh.

Nor do I. They sound like an ideal way to get people to work in the same time that cycling would, but rather than having to get showered and changed at either end, one could just hop off, lock up the scooter and sit at one's desk. And they'd still get more cars off the road. I can't really see a downside if operated by a sensible rider who has good road sense, and they remain limited to 12 or 15mph

 

[Ajax Bay]

Don't see that they're any different from bikes tbh.

Brakes are poorer (I suspect) - as in distance to stop from 15mph. I suspect the main difference is the rider population's behaviours.

they'd still get more cars off the road

Study of use in Paris has shown that only 8% of use was instead of car use. Agree your 'sensible rider' comment, tho'but. Think 12mph tops would make things safer and restrict misbehaviour yet still allow low-sweat efficient use for getting around cities. Millions of commuter miles not walked will reduce users' fitness.

 

[Electric_Andy]

Millions of commuter miles not walked will reduce users' fitness.

True, but it depends on what we're trying to acheive. And that would vary a lot between towns, cities and counties. I think reducing the number of car commutes would be highest priority, and trading that for e-scooters or fully e-bikes. Those who want the fitness aspect can still walk or cycle, but there are many who do not need that (because they go to a gym or go running etc). For people like me who would normally have a 4-mile steady uphill commute, it would be ideal to breeze up there in my work clothes on an e-scooter without having to shower and change at the end.

 

[Poacher]

Top of the range model due in the UK in September can do...100kph. I don't think we need fools riding those on the road or cyclepath.

I'll see your 100kph and raise to 110kph.
Its predecessor, capable of a mere 60mph, appears to be sold out, although simultaneously shown as in stock. Schrodinger's scooter?

 

[Drago]

Don't see that they're any different from bikes tbh.

Try braking from 15mph on each and then tell us you can't see the difference.