IAM RoadSmart warns mixing e-scooters, vehicles and pedestrians on roads and pavements is a dangerous cocktail

With reports of a Government consultation on legalisation for e-scooters imminent, IAM RoadSmart has warned that the rise in the use of electric scooters alongside vehicles on our roads and pedestrians on our pavements is bad news for road safety.

Last March the Department for Transport promised a far-reaching regulatory review to clarify the law around the use of e-scooters.

The government said it plans to invest £90 million in towns and cities to test transport innovation, and the review will explore regulations around new types of vehicles including e-scooters and e-cargo bike trailers.

It has been widely reported that the Government is now set to issue a further consultation and appears to be considering legalising the use of e-scooters on pathways and public roads in an effort to encourage green transportation (reference 1).

However, IAM RoadSmart believes that e-scooters and their increasing popularity will lead to many people riding them on public roads alongside bigger and faster vehicles – and will put individuals, including the scooter users themselves, in great danger.

The UK’s biggest independent road safety charity welcomes a long-term approach to transport planning by the government, but new modes of transport need dedicated routes to be truly safe.

It added that there is an urgent need for users of e-scooters to embark on some level of basic rider training and awareness before they start.

Neil Greig, IAM RoadSmart director of policy and research, said: “Electric scooters are simply not safe enough to be on our roads alongside full size vehicles.

“Mixing with pedestrians is also potentially very unsafe in shared areas. As with cycling, the answer probably lies in dedicated safe infrastructure for vulnerable road users.  Allied to that there is an urgent need for more rider training, information on protective clothing and clarification of e-scooters’ legal status.”

Neil added: “While we welcome innovation, transport changes and trends are happening far faster than the network is developing to accommodate them.

“Another Christmas has come and gone where e-scooters have been bought in large numbers as gifts, and summer beckons, when they will be widely used. With the prospect of even more e-scooters on our roads, so the need for clarity is now even more urgent.”

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Notes to editors:

Reference 1: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/e-scooters-to-get-green-light-on-uk-s-roads-cz2vxhm6b

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IAM RoadSmart has a mission to make better drivers and riders in order to improve road safety, inspire confidence and make driving and riding enjoyable. It does this through a range of courses for all road users, from online assessments through to the advanced driving and riding tests. IAM RoadSmart is the trading name of all businesses operated by the UK’s largest road safety charity, the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) and was formed in April 2016 combining the IAM, IAM Drive & Survive, PDS and IAM Driver Retraining Academy. The organisation has 92,000 members and campaigns on road safety on their behalf. At any one time there are over 7,000 drivers and riders actively engaged with IAM RoadSmart’s courses, from members of the public to company drivers, while our Driver Retraining Academy has helped 2,500 drivers to shorten their bans through education and support programmes.

To find out more about IAM RoadSmart commercial products and services visit the new website www.iamroadsmart.com/business                                                     

To find out more about IAM RoadSmart’s Driver Retraining Academy visit www.iamdra.org.uk                                                

To find out the name of your own local IAM RoadSmart group please visit: https://www.iamroadsmart.com/local-groups                             

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