Louise Haigh, Labour’s new Transport Secretary, has stated her department’s new motto is to ‘move fast and fix things’. One wonders if the longstanding question of regulation of e-scooters, which certainly can move fast and hurt people, will be on the agenda.
Currently e-scooters can only legally be driven on public roads if hired as part of authorised rental schemes. It is illegal to ride a privately owned e-scooter in a public place. In a May 2024 parliamentary debate, it was said that rental schemes only account for 20,000 e-scooters in the UK, with an estimated 750,000 – 1,000,000 e-scooters being driven on the road illegally. E-scooters are widely available and are even sold as toys for children.
The risks and dangers of e-scooters are serious, with e-scooters causing 37 deaths since 2019. Not all e-scooters will be properly insured, which may leave victims without recourse to recover damages. Further, for as long as they remain unregulated, e-scooters are not required to pass any tests or meet any standards before being sold.
The RNIB have long highlighted concerns about the impact e-scooters could have on the safety, confidence and independence of blind and partially sighted people. They have lobbied for their guidance to be adopted by local authorities and e-scooter rental companies.
There is a tension: e-scooters are considered an environmentally friendly and cheap mode of transport. The introduction of heavy regulation could discourage use of e-scooters. Any requirement for compulsory helmet use could throw up wider questions of compulsory helmet use for pedal cycles. It also may be difficult to enforce any regulation, noting that the police already struggle to enforce laws regarding private e-scooter use.
Nevertheless, the risk posed by e-scooters is ever growing, described in parliament as ‘almost a tsunami that is going to hit’, and requires addressing, rather than being pushed into the long grass. Labour have previously criticised the previous Conservative Government for failing to address this lacuna in regulation, accusing them of ducking their responsibility to regulate e-scooters. Indeed, in November 2024 Louise Haigh herself criticised the last government for failing to act on e-scooter regulation, noting that ‘every week that Ministers fail to act means more illegal scooters on our roads.’
The introduction of regulatory standards for e-scooters, minimum age restrictions and compulsory insurance may be a starting point for managing the risk. One would hope to see regulation of e-scooters being pushed high up the agenda for the Department of Transport and for there to be an accompanying public education campaign so that e-scooter users are made well aware of their responsibilities.
