Hundreds of Hull Live readers back calls for change on e-scooters

A Hull councillor has said walks to school with his daughter have to be carefully planned to avoid e-scooters and bikes as poll results showed a desire for change. A Hull Live poll found almost 49 per cent of respondents supported a licensing regime for e-scooters, while around 38 per cent supported banning them entirely. Bricknell’s Cllr Peter North, who previously called for more to be done to tackle irresponsible riding[1], said he had seen young children on e-scooters while taking his daughter to school.

Pointing to safety concerns for both riders and pedestrians, Cllr North said he was not yet convinced by the results of e-scooter trials, which are being held in towns around the country. He was not surprised that only around 13 per cent of respondents to the e-scooter poll wanted to give scooters free reign. The Labour councillor said: “I live close to Inglemire Lane and when we walk to school in the morning there’s always a lot of bikes on the paths.

A lot of them are secondary school kids, but some of them do ride very irresponsibly at high speed and I’ve had to pull my daughter out of the way. “We have to think about our route [to school] carefully, I’ve also seen children as young as seven riding on e-scooters as well. It doesn’t surprise me one bit that the option in the poll with the lowest support was to give scooters free reign.”

Councillor Peter North (Labour), who represents Bricknell ward in Hull. (Image: Hull City Council)

Last month, Cllr North called for more to be done to tackle the problem of riding on pavements and e-scooters.

He won cross-party backing for a motion that called on the council to mount an awareness campaign, though it has since been amended to be conditional on Government funding. Humberside Police[2] has the power to stop anyone caught riding an e-scooter in public, or cycling on a footpath, which are both offences. However, senior officers have said that they prefer to take an educational approach to tackling the issue, where possible.

Cllr North added: “The status quo isn’t good enough, licensing is the end goal, but I think the problem is the legislation for that seems to be far off. I’ve also looked into how e-scooter trials elsewhere have gone and the results weren’t as striking as I expected, in Liverpool accident rates were on par with places where these trials aren’t happening, so the jury’s out on those. “In Bricknell cycling on the pavement is the bigger issue, it comes up all the time.

As a cyclist there’s roads that I wouldn’t ride on because I don’t feel safe, but in those situations you should get off and walk with your bike. “The council can’t issue fines, but I think we need a campaign on this. I don’t think we can wait for Government funding.”

Cllr Dave McCobb, the council’s community safety portfolio holder, said the results of the Hull Live poll showed that there was a real concern about the issue locally and called on the Government to take the issue seriously. The portfolio holder said: “It’s very clear that the poll shows there’s a real concern about e-scooters. And as a local councillor, concerns about how safe the public highway is is one of the regular issues which appears in my mail bag.

The Government has been delaying looking at this issue, I strongly urge them to take it seriously.” The Hull Live poll found that 476 of the 975 respondents were in favour of requiring people to have licences to use e-scooters. A total of 372 people were in favour of banning e-scooters entirely, while 127 were happy to allow them free reign.

Under the law at present, e-scooters can only be ridden on private land, apart from in areas operation trial zones, including Scunthorpe, York and Liverpool. However, the devices are an increasingly familiar sight on roads and pavements, with some arguing that they offer significant benefits in the shape of affordable, green transport. E-scooters are legally classed as powered vehicles, meaning that, for them to be legal, they would need to be registered, licensed, taxed, insured and fitted with number plates.

They are currently available to rent in more than 30 areas in the UK where trials are ongoing, though speeds are limited to 15mph. A Government evaluation of the trials published last year found the majority of people living in trial areas saw e-scooters as a positive development. The Government has stated that new rules on e-scooters would be introduced when Parliamentary time allows.

Last month, Supt Jenny Bristow, of Humberside Police, 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.

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. “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.”

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References

1. ^ who previously called for more to be done to tackle irresponsible riding (www.hulldailymail.co.uk)
2. ^ Latest Humberside Police news- Hull Live (www.hulldailymail.co.uk)
3. ^ here (bit.ly)
4. ^ here (bit.ly)