So much to look forward to …
Don’t ride them over the limit if you value your licence
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I saw a young man with a small child standing on the front…no helmet, looked terrified, coming down St German’s road then going up onto the pavement along Brockley Rise. 
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I totally agree. They shouldn’t be rode on the pavements full stop, nor should cycles.
If my mum was still alive, I think it would start to put her off going out altogether, as she got knocked off her feet once just by 2 young men walking past. She wasn’t looking where she was going to be fair, but was already quite frail.
Just to finish the tale, I met the 2 men when they visited her in hospital after she was admitted & were really apologetic.
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They are now also being taken on the buses & the tubes! A tripping hazard waiting to happen!
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Lewisham isn’t mentioned, but it can’t be far behind…
I won’t get to Lewisham, just like the North London cycle hire scheme which barely makes it across the river into South West London. Must be taking their inspiration from the tube system.
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Completely agree. And if you aren’t allowed to cycle on the pavement (rightly) then I don’t think being on the pavement on motorised transport is right, unless it’s on a mobility scooter.
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And some mobility scooters could do with speed limiters and a dead man’s brake. My mum got struck by an out of control one in Waitrose when she was in her 80s. The Waitrose manager said they’d had trouble with the woman driver before, that she couldn’t control the machine and one time she knocked a whole display unit over, but they couldn’t do anything to stop her using it in the shop because of her “rights”.
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Some mobility scooter users blow their horns at pedestrians who get in their way!
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Can anyone who has ridden one tell us what the balance is like at 3mph?
They can always get off and push.
Escooters are also terribly bad for the planet. According to research by Warwick University their average lifespan is 1-5 months before they are scrapped. The throwaway society is alive and well.
fac-1(1).pdf (226.2 KB)
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It would be interesting to compare that to other rental vehicles. In the US, rental cars are renewed every 4 and 22 months with an average of every 13. As with any rentals there is the possibility of a secondary market for used equipment and I would presume the same could apply to e-scooters.
I’d be interested to know the similar figure for rental bikes. These, because of their design specific for rental markets may not have any value beyond its normal rental lifestyle other then scrap.
Interesting analysis. I wonder how this compares to eBikes, which are similar in many respects, but as the report notes are “separately legislated”. I imagine eBikes are far more serviceable, so have a much longer lifespan, while things like hoverboards are look much like disposable toys!
Many French users throw e-scooters in the Seine!
I own one myself, it would not be difficult to ride at 3mph but I suppose it’s a personal preference type of thing, some might find it easier than others.
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I think the statement that ‘Escooters are terribly bad for the planet’ is false. Firstly, their research was done purely on the rental scooter market, which must make up a very small percentage of the actual scooter market, being as most scooters are privately owned and only 6 areas / boroughs have rental scooters available. Secondly, rental scooters are always going to degrade and break down more than privately owned scooters due to them being exposed to a variety of weather conditions as well as people taking less care with them. I personally have had my scooter for a year and a half, done over 2000 miles on it and have only had to replace 1 punctured tyre. Even if rental scooters are only lasting 5 months, the vast majority of the scooter can be recycled, batteries, the plastic body and the aluminium frame are all widely recyclable. Don’t get me wrong i’m all for limiting the speeds of the scooter and having a minimum age requirement, however it is important not to throw about claims that it is bad for the planet without sufficient research.
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