What police are doing about e-scooters in Hull, after calls for more action to be taken

Anyone riding an e-scooter in a public public or cycling on a footpath is committing an offence and Humberside Police[1] have the powers to stop them, a senior officer has said. Superintendent Jenny Bristow has set out what the force is doing to deter potentially dangerous riding after fears were raised about increasing use of e-scooters, along with people riding bikes on the pavements. Last week, Hull councillors called on the police to beef up enforcement and suggested officers seemed hesitant to take action on the issue.

Under the law at present e-scooters can only be ridden legally on private land, except in a few areas staging trials to allow them on public roads, including Scunthorpe and York. Despite this, e-scooters have become a common sight on the roads – and footpaths – of Hull and East Yorkshire, with many people seeing them as a convenient and relatively inexpensive form of transport. Supt Bristow said that while appropriate action would be taken against illegal riding, the force preferred to take an educational approach to prevent further offending.

And she urged people who might be thinking of buying an e-scooter this Christmas to consider whether they would be riding them legally. She said: “We are absolutely committed to doing all we can to ensure that people are able to go about their lawful business without fear of injury. In recent years we have seen an increase in the use of e-scooters within our force area.

A cyclist riding on the pavement in Freetown Way, Hull, despite being next to a cycle lane. Councillors have called for an awareness campaign.

“Drivers may not realise by purchasing and driving an e-scooter in a public place or by riding a bicycle on a public footpath that they are committing offences. Classified as powered transporters under UK law, e-scooters fall within the legal definition of a ‘motor vehicle’ and consequently must follow the same laws as motor vehicles under the Road Traffic Act 1988, including being registered with the DVLA, licensed, taxed, insured and fitted with number plates.

“At present e-scooters cannot meet these requirements. We do have the powers to deal with anyone who uses a privately owned e-scooter on a public road or other prohibited space, or anyone who rides a bicycle on a footpath. “However, in most cases we would rather adopt an educational approach to prevent further offences.

If people are looking to buy an e-scooter or a bicycle in the run up to Christmas please consider the legalities of their use before you do so. “We will always treat every report on a case-by-case basis to ensure the most appropriate action is taken. Where people knowingly commit an offence and intentionally put others at risk, we will always take action.”

Bike clash leaves woman with broken arm

At a meeting last week, councillors heard how a Hull woman was left with a broken arm after an incident with a bike on a footpath.

Hull City Council heard of mounting safety concerns due to people riding on footpaths. Cllr Peter North (Labour, Bricknell ward) tabled a motion calling for an awareness campaign around the issue. He warned that people were losing confidence in using footpaths.

Cllr Dave McCobb (Lib Dem, Beverley and Newland ward), whose council portfolio includes community safety, said he also shared those concerns as a parent with a four-year-old child. Councillors voted to refer the issue to the ruling cabinet and called on it to mount a high-profile campaign to promote safety and to beef up patrols to deter riding on footpaths. It follows similar concerns raised at East Riding Council[2] last year, when Liberal Democrat Cllr Viv Padden said a woman’s skull was cracked after an e-scooter knocked her over.

People caught riding a bike on the pavement can face a GBP30 fixed penalty notice. Cllr North said the law was still playing catch up with e-scooters and results from trials of them elsewhere had been less than convincing. He added: “E-scooters seem to be here to stay and they’re an economic and environmentally friendly mode of transport which could serve a purpose.

But there’s little to no legislation on them and we need to take action now because people are starting to worry about using footpaths. “This is also about the safety of bikes riding on footpaths, incidents involving accidents with pedestrians are becoming more prevalent. A lady in my ward of Bricknell had her arm broken in a bike accident.

“This is particularly affecting disabled people, the elderly and parents with young children. I’ve had to drag my own child out of the way of oncoming bikes.” Cllr McCobb said he and the ruling Liberal Democrats supported the principle behind the call.

But distinctions needed to be made in the case of cycling on pavements, such as when parents rode with young children, he added. The portfolio holder said: “As a dad with a four-year-old, when we go on Newland Avenue on weekends we do sometimes see people riding bikes on them, but there’s a distinction between riding dangerously on the footpath and parents using them to teach their children how to cycle. A significant number of people living in Beverley High Road have also reported leaving their house and walking towards the pavement to see someone hurtling down the footpath on a bike.”

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References

1. ^ Latest Humberside Police news- Hull Live (www.hulldailymail.co.uk)
2. ^ Latest East Riding of Yorkshire Council news- Hull Live (www.hulldailymail.co.uk)
3. ^ here (tinyurl.com)
4. ^ here. (bit.ly)