“We have had more contact from the elderly and visually impaired on this topic than any other issue I can recall.”
So said David Davies, executive director of PACTS, during a workshop on 10 November, delivered as part of the Festival of Road Safety.
The workshop, organised by PACTS, focused on the safety of privately-owned e-scooters, and whether they should be legalised – or, as David Davies mooted at the outset ‘How they should be legalised?’, given that ‘Government sources have hinted they are almost certainly going to be legalised’.
After a brief presentation delivered by Margaret Winchcomb, outlining the ongoing work PACTS is doing on the subject of privately-owned e-scooters, the bulk of the workshop comprised a Q&A session expertly chaired by Jonathan Hodgkinson from the law firm Weightmans.
The Q&A was formed around a series of audience polls on e-scooter related topics.
When asked whether anti-social e-scooter riding is a problem in their area, perhaps unsurprisingly 76% of respondents answered ‘yes’.
David Davies described the impact of anti-social riding on pedestrians as ‘most worrying’, given that e-scooters lend themselves to being used on the pavement.
Margaet Winchcomb said e-scooter users ‘tend to have a degree of risk aversion’ which means legislation must be backed by ‘clear education’.
Asked whether a requirement for insurance in order to use an e-scooter would improve behaviour, Jonathan Hodgkinson said it may have an impact, because users would be ‘more likely to understand the rules of use’ – before adding that it would be ‘quite difficult’ to develop a model for e-scooter insurance.
On the subject of whether helmets should be compulsory, Margaret Winchcomb said in her view the ‘evidence is clear, with so many head injuries, even at lower speeds’, that helmet use should be mandatory – although David Davies said this is ‘not yet a PACTS recommendation’.
Attendee Karen Cole from the MCIA suggested that Type Approval would be the best route to making e-scooters safe and minimising the risk of tampering by the user.
David Davies said PACTS would like to investigate that further, given that Type Approval is a ‘heavy scheme, accompanied by a large degree of regulation’.
In response, Karen Cole asked ‘What price safety?’. Yes, it would increase e-scooter prices, but you either have a ‘free for all’ or approval.
In the other polls during the workshop:
- A majority of attendees supported a speed limit of 10mph, rather than the current limit of 15.5mph
- Asked whether wheel size, weight or brakes are the most important safety feature, a majority said wheel size
- Asked whether legalising e-scooters would lead to a shift away from private motor vehicles, 50% of respondents said a ‘small shift’, 32% said ‘no shift’ – with just 3% saying a big shift
Weeks 2, 3 and 4
Click here to view the full programme for Festival week 2.
The programmes for weeks 3 and 4 can also be found on the link above – by clicking on the links on the right-hand side. Weeks 3 and 4 sessions are subject to final confirmation in terms of dates and timings.
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The 2021 Festival is being organised by Road Safety GB and sponsored by Jenoptik. For more information contact either Nick Rawlings or Edward Seaman by email or on 01379 650112.
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