Privately-owned e-scooters could become road legal as “the genie’s out of the bottle”
New rules could set out where privately owned e-scooters are legal to use, and also enforce a minimum level of safety equipment
Privately-owned e-scooters could soon be legal on UK roads as the Secretary of State for Transport has hinted that the Government will soon begin drafting regulations designed to protect other road users.
Speaking to the BBC’s Politics Midlands programme, Heidi Alexander MP admitted that while privately owned e-scooters are only legal for usage on private land – e-scooters can be rented in areas with schemes in place – there are many that choose to avoid complying with the law.
"The genie’s out of the bottle when it comes to e-scooters,” the transport secretary said. “If you buy one yourself in somewhere like Halfords... you can only use that scooter by law on private land. But we do know that’s not happening, and that’s why we need to legislate.”
Alexander suggests that new rules will be drafted “as soon as parliamentary time becomes available”. These will include speed limits for e-scooters, as well as requirements for things such as lights and brakes. Legislation will also crucially state where private e-scooters can be used, with Alexander reassuring the public that "I don't think, for example, they should ever be allowed to be used on pavements”.
Currently E-scooters can be rented and are legal to use on public roads and cycle lanes in towns and cities that run an approved trial scheme. These began back in 2020, with riders requiring a full or provisional driving licence and operators providing renters with third-party insurance.
Alexander reminded the public that e-scooters remain “a low-cost, sustainable way to travel”. There are concerns, however, that insufficient laws surrounding e-scooter usage have cultivated an environment where injuries are becoming commonplace.
Commenting on a recent report into e-scooter safety by the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety, clinical director in paediatric emergency medicine at Liverpool’s Alder Hey Children’s Hospital Emergency Department, Dr Charlotte Durand, said: “Emergency departments continue to see increasing numbers of injuries and some tragic deaths of children due to e-scooter accidents since 2019.
“Public engagement work has shown most families are unaware of the law around e-scooters, nor of the significant dangers of children riding them despite their vulnerability both physically due to their size and their understanding of risk.”
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