Pretty much spot on l think. l predict mayhem will ensue.

 

It's too late, the genie is out of a bottle which never had a stopper. They'll impound a few for publicity/scare tactics but so long as people can buy them, they'll use them, largely untroubled by too few cops. They all seem to be sold with such different specs - speed limits, power (up to 1000W, 30mph+). I can't see that many can be made to conform to any sensible set of new escooter laws which don't require licensing, number plates and insurance.

Edited April 28, 20223 yr by guerney

They will have to have to have some requirements set down in law for them, just as pedelecs have. One would think they will follow suit speed wise legally but totally unenforceable as will the motor power will be.

 

Another dogs dinner of just giving in, all goes back to no real effective policing.

Electric scooters are deathtraps. It doesn't take much for them to topple over. This idiot fell over on the other side of the road, for no reason I could see. I checked to see if he was ok, he said he was. He shouted "It's a show mate!" after he fell over and was picking himself up.

 

Great post and video Batman. Also very true.

I myself consider 26" wheels to be the smallest that I will ride on an e- or normal bike, for safety reasons with uneven roads.

larger is even better, plus reasonably thick tyres and full suspension.

regards

Andy

PS. Loved the voice Batman!!

l don't know, my folding ebike has 16" wheels and is perfectly stable/safe.

 

l am used to riding my mountain bike that has 27 1/2" wheels so l wasn't expecting the folding bike to be as good as it is.

 

I've done over 30mph downhill and it still feels stable.

The steering is more direct than my regular bike, but you soon get used to it.

it is when you you go over 30mph with small wheels you get speed wobbles and sod riding one of those things.

Well yes, l tried one in Decathlon and fell off at the end of the aisle while trying to turn.

 

But these are seriously small wheels, about 6" in diameter.

 

l guess there's none of the gyroscopic stability that you get with larger wheels.

Who says e-scooters have to have small wheels?

i had one of them things blast past me on the road i could not even keep up with it going 35mph it left me for dust lol but seen it had a rock shox sticker on the left hand side.

 

next time i saw it was in the local paper

 

https://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/news/gloucester-news/powered-transporter-seized-gloucester-after-5529772

 

them things must be 3-4k

Heavens that looks impressive but hardly the type of "e-scooter" that the govt plans to legalise

Plenty of comments here suggesting that electric scooters are not safe. Meanwhile I’m just back from a few days in Seville in Spain. What a revelation. Cars, pedestrians, e-bikes, bikes, scooters, dual rider scooters, electric Lambretta-style scooters, Segways and horse-drawn carriages all going about their ways in harmony. I’ve said it before - its all about culture and mutual respect, not to mention a good network of bike lanes. I’d really like to see Seville-style adoption of electric transport in the U.K. A bit more sunshine to get people in the right mood would also help.

lt's the same in the Netherlands where my brother lives, ebikes, e-scooters, ordinary bikes all being used sensibly and few issues.

 

But they have a very good cycling infrastructure with cycle lanes in many places separating the bikes, scooters etc from cars and pedestrians

They will have to have to have some requirements set down in law for them, just as pedelecs have. One would think they will follow suit speed wise legally but totally unenforceable as will the motor power will be.

 

Another dogs dinner of just giving in, all goes back to no real effective policing.

 

A 1000W scooter could tow much heavier trailers, than my 250W bbs01b converted bike can. In the unlikely event that the government make all escooters legal "In use" at under 15.5mph, irrespective of motor power (or some limit substantially higher than 250W - there are so many high powered models about, they must be a sizeable proportion of those in use, and too many for cops to seize) I might buy one, and try to adapt a trailer to attach. A 1000W escooter trailer tower would have to have fat tyres, deep treads, several gears, a hitching point or structure welded or bolted on, and probably at least three wheels?

Edited April 29, 20223 yr by guerney

Great post and video Batman. Also very true.

I myself consider 26" wheels to be the smallest that I will ride on an e- or normal bike, for safety reasons with uneven roads.

larger is even better, plus reasonably thick tyres and full suspension.

regards

Andy

PS. Loved the voice Batman!!

 

Recorded using a Sennheiser MKE-400 condenser mic and no processing, but it doesn't pick up low voice frequencies well enough. I use that voice when answering calls, it gets rid of telemarketers fairly quickly when I say things like "I KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE" and "I WILL FIND YOU AND KILL YOU" lol. They're telemarketers, and can't prosecute me for making "Death threats" from wherever they are. There's a gravelly bit deep in everyone's voicebox, which when the lower throat is opened and the muscles higher up are tightened, produce that tone.

 

I've retired from fighting crime in Gotham, and can't sustain that voice for more than a minute these days. It's fun to use while wearing a black covid mask and shopping "I'M BATMAN. TELL ALL YOUR FRIENDS ABOUT ME", and other activities...

Edited April 29, 20223 yr by I893469365902345609348566

l don't know, my folding ebike has 16" wheels and is perfectly stable/safe.

 

I have never seen an issue with the 16" wheels on my Brompton, its stable and safe when ridden properly.

Cars, pedestrians, e-bikes, bikes, scooters, dual rider scooters, electric Lambretta-style scooters, Segways and horse-drawn carriages all going about their ways in harmony. I’ve said it before - its all about culture and mutual respect, not to mention a good network of bike lanes.

 

Sure, in a country where people can be trusted to share the pavement\road space with other users and ride safely, then its OK. And as suggested eleswhere, Amsterdam is an example of this.

 

But not in the UK, where lack of common sense and no respect for the law is the norm. Only just recently in part of the Partygate debate one UK Cabinet Minister was trying to persuade people that breaking Covid rules was no different to getting caught for speeding, i.e. breaking speed limits can considered normal behaviour.

 

So whilst eScooters might be OK in Seville or Amsterdam, they are not going to be so in the UK.

It's not only escooters that ride dangerously through pedestrian areas; plenty of ebikes and regular bikes do so too.

Sure, in a country where people can be trusted to share the pavement\road space with other users and ride safely, then its OK. And as suggested eleswhere, Amsterdam is an example of this.

 

But not in the UK, where lack of common sense and no respect for the law is the norm. Only just recently in part of the Partygate debate one UK Cabinet Minister was trying to persuade people that breaking Covid rules was no different to getting caught for speeding, i.e. breaking speed limits can considered normal behaviour.

 

So whilst eScooters might be OK in Seville or Amsterdam, they are not going to be so in the UK.

 

I agree with all of this except for giving up on working towards a U.K. culture where all transport can work in harmony. A bit of initiative from government to kickstart such a change would be a very good thing. We have a long way to go so let’s start now.

16" scooters aren't the norm, I certainly haven't seen one being used. They are all small wheeled jobs, though some do use a fat tyre.

France banned them from the capitals pavements following two deaths of pedestrians after being hit.

A 1000W scooter could tow much heavier trailers, than my 250W bbs01b converted bike can. In the unlikely event that the government make all escooters legal "In use" at under 15.5mph, irrespective of motor power (or some limit substantially higher than 250W - there are so many high powered models about, they must be a sizeable proportion of those in use, and too many for cops to seize) I might buy one, and try to adapt a trailer to attach. A 1000W escooter trailer tower would have to have fat tyres, deep treads, several gears, a hitching point or structure welded or bolted on, and probably at least three wheels?

 

Not so sure it would work very well esp with the low weight of a scooter, even on a bike the push and pull of a heavy weight towing is very noticeable at times. Not sure a scooter would have the brakes or stability to deal with doing so.

 

Ok for lightweight, I saw a guy in Brighton towing a canoe with a petrol skateboard.

16" scooters aren't the norm, I certainly haven't seen one being used. They are all small wheeled jobs, though some do use a fat tyre.

France banned them from the capitals pavements following two deaths of pedestrians after being hit.

 

When I'm disguised as a pedestrian it's shocking when they whoosh fast and silently past you, invariably dressed as ninjas, at a moment when I might have wobble walked right into them.

Not so sure it would work very well esp with the low weight of a scooter, even on a bike the push and pull of a heavy weight towing is very noticeable at times. Not sure a scooter would have the brakes or stability to deal with doing so.

 

Ok for lightweight, I saw a guy in Brighton towing a canoe with a petrol skateboard.

 

I can't waito hear what Grant Shapps announces - if they remove motor power limits for escooters to be used under 15.5mph, without license and insurance etc. or limit motor power substantially higher than 250W, we may see them making themselves more useful: new cargo escooter designs featuring four bigger wheels, wider and more elevated bases, big heavy batteries, seats and hitching points - they'd essentially be very narrow, bodyless, slow electric cars or tiny narrow tractors, which anyone could "Drive". The highly likely 250W limit would be a bummer.

 

Some of those small petrol engines are a sneaky 49cc - I spotted a bicycle converted with one a couple of months ago, buzzing along the pavement.

Edited April 29, 20223 yr by guerney

I can't waito hear what Grant Shapps announces - if they remove motor power limits for escooters to be used under 15.5mph, without license and insurance etc. or limit motor power substantially higher than 250W, we may see them making themselves more useful: new cargo escooter designs featuring four bigger wheels, wider and more elevated bases, big heavy batteries, seats and hitching points - they'd essentially be very narrow, bodyless, slow electric cars or tiny narrow tractors, which anyone could "Drive". The highly likely 250W limit would be a bummer.

 

Some of those small petrol engines are a sneaky 49cc - I spotted a bicycle converted with one a couple of months ago, buzzing along the pavement.

 

We already know what the government favours since they've already made that clear when they first introduce the trial. 350 watt limit and 12.5 mph speed limited to accord to Europe's 20 kph limit for these scooters.

 

The 15 mph limit was only for the trial to help out the American hire companies since their machines were already that.

.

Banks, payment processors and Equifax know who has bought escooters - the government could have an "Escooter amnesty" period, after which everyone who didn't come forward to have their escooters crushed, could be issued with fines and have three points etc. automatically added to their license. Further fines and points could be issued until the escooters were presented for crushing. The HMRC already have that data in their automatic tax-fraud detection systems (to harass the 99% with).

I can't waito hear what Grant Shapps announces - if they remove motor power limits for escooters to be used under 15.5mph, without license and insurance etc. or limit motor power substantially higher than 250W, we may see them making themselves more useful: new cargo escooter designs featuring four bigger wheels, wider and more elevated bases, big heavy batteries, seats and hitching points - they'd essentially be very narrow, bodyless, slow electric cars or tiny narrow tractors, which anyone could "Drive". The highly likely 250W limit would be a bummer.

 

Some of those small petrol engines are a sneaky 49cc - I spotted a bicycle converted with one a couple of months ago, buzzing along the pavement.

I think 15.5mph limits is good, but if they removed other restrictions for eScooters, then I would campaign for legislation on eBikes with throttles to be reversed, as it would benefit those with disabilities and would make cycling inclusive for all.