Silent E-scooters ‘can be deadly at just 15.5mph’
E-scooters being used as 'getaway vehicles' says expert
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Crash tests show a dummy the size of a three-year-old child flew more than 20 feet through the air after being struck by an e-scooter. And adults can be thrown almost 10ft in a collision with one of the machines. The testing, for Guide Dogs, showed the impact of e-scooters travelling at 15.5mph, the top speed of the UK’s most popular model used for Government-approved rentals.
It is illegal to use a privately owned scooter on public roads but rental trials are running in 32 areas of England, including London, Newcastle and Nottingham.
Riders must have at least a provisional licence and the devices can be used only on cycle lanes and roads.
At least six people have died in accidents involving e-scooters since July 2020, with almost 200 riders seriously injured.
Chris Theobald, of Guide Dogs, said: “We are urging the Government to work with the police to tackle illegal riding. Our testing shows everybody is at risk, not just people with visual impairments.”
E-scooters are to be banned from the Tube from Monday after fires, Transport for London said yesterday.
Last month passengers had to abandon a service in west London after a scooter went up in flames then kept burning on the platform while another erupted in a lost property office in October.
Defective or wrongly charged batteries often spark scooter blazes. Passengers who ignore the rules face being hauled off trains with fines of up to £1,000.
Lilli Matson, TFL’s chief safety officer, said: “We have been extremely worried by recent incidents on services with intense fires and considerable smoke and damage.”
Paul Jennings, London Fire Brigade Assistant Commissioner for Fire Safety, said: “We have growing concerns about the safety of e-scooters due to the amount of fires we are seeing. A fire on the transport network has the potential to become very serious very quickly.”
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