Photo: leparisien.fr
As cities are becoming more crowded, regular people and industry players are looking at micro-mobility solutions for a quick means of getting around. With the booming new trend comes a boost in offenses involving these devices.
Large cities from all over the world are already dealing with the harsh reality of being flooded by e-scooters, both rentals and privately owned. Hoverboards and Segways, and other, less traditional micro-mobility solutions like pogo sticks, are also very popular.
As figures obtained by Sky News through freedom of information requests to police forces across the U.K. and the British Transport Police (BTP) show, these devices are involved in hundreds of incidents yearly, some more violent than others. Over the course of just 3 years, there have been 4,000 such incidents reported to the police – which means the actual number is much larger, since not all incidents are reported by victims.
Since 2018, more than 1,600 incidents involving e-scooters, Segways and hoverboards were reported to the police, with over 600 just this year (January through July). These incidents rank from traffic collisions both with and without physical injury (but almost always with damage to property), criminal damage, anti-social behavior and theft.
In July this year, the first fatal collision involving an e-scooter occurred and the death of YouTube star Emily Hartridge is putting pressure on the government to regulate all such micro-mobility solutions. At the moment, they are not legal for use on public roads, or on footpaths and bicycle lanes.
Joshua Harris, director of campaigns at road safety charity Brake, says that these newly-unveiled figures speak for themselves. “These figures highlight an urgent need for improved public communication on the permitted use of e-scooters, both from government and retailers at the point of sale,” Harris says.
“We also call on the government to accelerate its review of the current regulations on micro-mobility. Alternatives to cars are vital with our cities getting ever more congested and polluted, however, the safety implications of new transport modes most be fully explored before they're permitted to be used,” Harris adds.
As figures obtained by Sky News through freedom of information requests to police forces across the U.K. and the British Transport Police (BTP) show, these devices are involved in hundreds of incidents yearly, some more violent than others. Over the course of just 3 years, there have been 4,000 such incidents reported to the police – which means the actual number is much larger, since not all incidents are reported by victims.
Since 2018, more than 1,600 incidents involving e-scooters, Segways and hoverboards were reported to the police, with over 600 just this year (January through July). These incidents rank from traffic collisions both with and without physical injury (but almost always with damage to property), criminal damage, anti-social behavior and theft.
In July this year, the first fatal collision involving an e-scooter occurred and the death of YouTube star Emily Hartridge is putting pressure on the government to regulate all such micro-mobility solutions. At the moment, they are not legal for use on public roads, or on footpaths and bicycle lanes.
Joshua Harris, director of campaigns at road safety charity Brake, says that these newly-unveiled figures speak for themselves. “These figures highlight an urgent need for improved public communication on the permitted use of e-scooters, both from government and retailers at the point of sale,” Harris says.
“We also call on the government to accelerate its review of the current regulations on micro-mobility. Alternatives to cars are vital with our cities getting ever more congested and polluted, however, the safety implications of new transport modes most be fully explored before they're permitted to be used,” Harris adds.
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