THIS is pure madness. An e-scooter rider was filmed by West Yorkshire Police as he attempted to join the busy M606 motorway on board his 15mph electric scoot.
Posting on their Twitter page, the scooter rider was apprehended by police before he was able to cause any danger to road users, or himself. Apparently he was reported and his scooter was seized.
We’ve seen this before at Visordown, where a madman scooter rider was seen riding on the hard-shoulder of the M1 at night, and whilst it was raining… What is it about these scooters that bring out some truly idiotic decisions?
Then again, I’ve seen mobility scooters riding along the motorway before.
Not only are privately owned scooters currently illegal to ride anywhere other than private property, they are certainly not equipped to deal with some of the busiest and fastest roads in the country with a circa 15mph top speed.
Should e-scooters be banned completely?
Speaking of, rented scooters are being trialled in cities across the UK, and becoming increasingly prevalent on the roads, and unfortunately with that comes accidents and serious injuries.
In one West Midlands trial, five serious injuries have been reported in the first 6 months - a number that sadly will no doubt continue rising with their ongoing introduction to cities and towns.
With no licence requirements, riders are able to jump on board without any safety gear and zip around on the streets. Whatever your opinion, there are without a doubt positives and negatives here - and coming from the motorcycle world, it’s difficult to argue away the inherent ‘danger’ aspect of being on two wheels.
With close to half a million rides being undertaken in the West Midlands trial alone, a handful of serious injuries becomes more likely - but we’re talking riding on urban streets here, not joining busy motorways.
Visordown’s take on the e-scooter
In our view, these e-scooters are coming whether we like it or not, so ultimately it should be up to the rider if they want to ride one on the street. Without getting too political, legislation will need to be put together with coherent and clear restrictions - and not just the outright banning of something that clearly has its uses.
Perhaps riders should be just be held more accountable, requiring licences & insurance in place to jump on. Hate to say it, but along the same lines as what Mr. Loophole had to say.
I say this having zipped around Malaga on a scooter a couple of years ago - great fun, but the locals hated it, and they're now restricted to bike paths and roads (and designated areas). Will the UK Gov be able to suss it out as easily?
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