The issue of electric scooters and their reported misuse has recently been a growing concern as road trials continue in 32 locations across the country and numerous constituents have written to me to express their own worries about this.
The Department for Transport (DfT) has been running a series of electric scooter trials in select areas, allowing the Government to scrutinise their full impact before any decision is made on whether they should be legalised on public roads. The use of e-scooters outside of these controlled trials is illegal unless it is on private land with the landowner's permission, and there are penalties for improper use.
The misuse of scooters is against Government guidance first published in 2020, which lists the rules for members of the general public using e-scooters as part of trials. The full list of guidelines can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/e-scooter-trials-guidance-for-users.
I recognise that there are important concerns about the impact expanding the use of e-scooters could have for the blind or visually impaired. It is important that our streets remain accessible to all, and I welcome that the Department for Transport has carried out a preliminary assessment of the impacts of e-scooters on blind people. A full set of findings will be included in a final report due later in 2022.
It is essential that local authorities engage with groups that represent disabled people before submitting a proposal to hold a trial, to allow concerns to be raised and, where possible, mitigated before trials commence. I understand that the Department has rejected proposals where this engagement has not taken place. Officials have engaged with a range of stakeholders, including representatives from Guide Dogs, the Royal National Institute of Blind People, and the National Federation of the Blind of the UK.
The Department has attempted to minimize the possible implications for visually impaired people by not allowing e-scooter on pavements and asking local authorities to consider ways to avoid e-scooters creating an obstruction when not in use. Following consultation last year, the Department now requires all e-scooters used in trials to have a horn or bell so that users can make others aware of their presence.
I have been assured that any future decisions taken on e-scooters will be evidence-led, based on the findings of the Government’s national monitoring and evaluation programme.
The issue of electric scooters and their reported misuse has recently been a growing concern as road trials continue in 32 locations across the country and numerous constituents have written to me to express their own worries about this.
The Department for Transport (DfT) has been running a series of electric scooter trials in select areas, allowing the Government to scrutinise their full impact before any decision is made on whether they should be legalised on public roads. The use of e-scooters outside of these controlled trials is illegal unless it is on private land with the landowner's permission, and there are penalties for improper use.
The misuse of scooters is against Government guidance first published in 2020, which lists the rules for members of the general public using e-scooters as part of trials. The full list of guidelines can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/e-scooter-trials-guidance-for-users.
I recognise that there are important concerns about the impact expanding the use of e-scooters could have for the blind or visually impaired. It is important that our streets remain accessible to all, and I welcome that the Department for Transport has carried out a preliminary assessment of the impacts of e-scooters on blind people. A full set of findings will be included in a final report due later in 2022.
It is essential that local authorities engage with groups that represent disabled people before submitting a proposal to hold a trial, to allow concerns to be raised and, where possible, mitigated before trials commence. I understand that the Department has rejected proposals where this engagement has not taken place. Officials have engaged with a range of stakeholders, including representatives from Guide Dogs, the Royal National Institute of Blind People, and the National Federation of the Blind of the UK.
The Department has attempted to minimize the possible implications for visually impaired people by not allowing e-scooter on pavements and asking local authorities to consider ways to avoid e-scooters creating an obstruction when not in use. Following consultation last year, the Department now requires all e-scooters used in trials to have a horn or bell so that users can make others aware of their presence.
I have been assured that any future decisions taken on e-scooters will be evidence-led, based on the findings of the Government’s national monitoring and evaluation programme.