PACTS has been awarded a grant by the Road Safety Trust to collect data relating to incidents involving the use of private e-scooters.
As a result of the launch of regulated trials of rental e-scooters across England last year, PACTS says the use of private e-scooters has increased, despite their illegality.
While the Government-approved e-scooter rental trials are intended to assess safety, PACTS adds there is ‘little or no current measure’ of the impact of the safety of private e-scooter on riders and other road users.
Over the coming months, PACTS will work with partners from a broad spectrum of backgrounds and fields of expertise to:
- Gather data of casualties involving e-scooters (riders and other road users) collected from the media, police forces and at least one major trauma centre
- Publish a report summarising its findings and recommendations for regulation of private e-scooters – construction and use
- Host a webinar to disseminate the findings
PACTS says if e-scooter use on roads and in other public places is to be legalised, it wants legislation to include evidence-based safety measures to protect riders and other road users.
Bit worrying that there is apparently ‘little or no current measure’ of scooter safety when the trial is due to end in March……..
Keith Wheeler, Aylesbury
+2
Let me guess, they’ll end up being suspiciously safer than riding a bicycle because in order to ride e-scooters legally they’ve needed to at least be competent enough to have secured a provisional licence
However because people sometimes ride e-scooters on the pavement (and because cyclists don’t do this at all?) they should remain prohibited. Probably.
I’ll review my comment once PACTS have come up with their own point of view!
David Weston, Newcastle upon Tyne
0
Isn’t it time that the NHS collected basic information on casualty attendance whether that be drivers or riders or pedestrians. This would be useful for road safety professionals but surely useful for NHS to manage their own costs and resources. I’m talking pretty basic stuff here in terms of mode of injury and vehicle type.
Peter Whitfield
+3
The Safer Essex Roads Partnership is already trying to do this in Essex but it is difficult and very time consuming to ascertain whether a collision within a scooter trial area relates to a trial machine or a private one; even when we have access to the trial incident data and access to police data. Good luck PACTS.
Nicola Foster, Chelmsford
+1
Here is some e scooter injury data from abroad. I haven’t read all the details, just skimmed through earlier this year but someone has gone to the trouble of recording stuff that perhaps the UK could benefit from knowing as part of the background data?
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2773163?resultClick=3&utm_source=TrendMD&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=JAMA_Network_Open_TrendMD_1
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/article-abstract/2722574?utm_source=TrendMD&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=JAMA_Network_Open_TrendMD_1
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2770043?utm_source=TrendMD&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=JAMA_Network_Open_TrendMD_1&utm_term=083120
Pat, Wales
+3