A new study from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) has claimed it is five times safer to ride an electric scooter than to ride a bicycle – adding that its research showed that the risk they are often said to pose to pedestrians is not borne out by official casualty statistics.
Privately-owned e-scooters are technically classified as motor vehicles and are banned in the UK and can only be ridden on private land with the landowner’s permission, but it is not against the law to sell them and sales have soared in recent years with many ridden illegally on public highways and on pavements – sometimes resulting in confiscation by the police.
Yesterday, transport secretary Grant Shapps told the House of Commons Transport Committee that the government plans to crack down on illegal sales of e-scooters – but added that approved models may be allowed to be ridden on the public highway, with legislation possibly being introduced in the Queen’s Speech on 10 May.
> E-scooters and the law: When and where are you legally allowed to ride an electric scooter?
In England, the Department for Transport (DfT) already permits trial hire schemes of e-scooters, with around 50 towns and cities currently participating in the initiative.
The trial sees people aged 18 and over who posses a full or provisional driving licences able to hire them from operators including Dott, Lime, Voi and Neuron Mobility, with the e-scooters geofenced so they can not be taken out of a specific area, and third party insurance provided as part of the hire package.
Neuron Mobility partnered with RoSPA for its study, which analysed DfT data, including road traffic casualty statistics, and compared e-scooters with other forms of transport.
The research found that collision rates for e-scooters were 0.66 per million miles travelled – five times lower than the rate for bicycles (3.33 collisions per million miles travelled), and nine time lower than that of motorcycles (5.88 collisions per million miles travelled).
> Near Miss of the Day 753: Wrong-way e-scooter rider cuts across cyclist
It also discovered that almost all reported incidents involving e-scooters happened in local authority areas where no rental scheme was in operation, which RosPA said underlined how safe such schemes were proven to be, in part due to the safety checks and regular maintenance and servicing carried out by operators.
The study concluded that:
The key finding is that e-scooters have lower casualty rates compared to other travel modes.
Our findings indicate that the risk to pedestrians is relatively low, despite the common perception.
We also found that there was no significant rise in incidents in the evening, again contrary to the perception that e-scooters are associated with anti-social behaviour around common pub closing times.
Private sales data and a more stable dataset (and a representative ‘average’ travel year to collect data) will enable firmer conclusions to be drawn in future.
Its authors said that “these findings suggest some important safety factors that should be taken into consideration for future E-scooter use in UK,” and made the following recommendations:
Given the rate of crashes that take place on single carriageways, further investment in road design improvements, including segregated bike and e-scooter lanes, would be beneficial.
Safety standards should be applied to improve the visibility of e-scooters on the road, including those that relate to indication, lighting and braking.
Providing mandatory training on the Highway Code and the practical operation of e-scooters would be beneficial for all users.
Awareness and training on e-scooter behaviour for other road users, in particular car drivers, would be beneficial.
E-scooter users should be encouraged to wear helmets when riding.
“Whilst it’s clear from the data available, that e-scooters in general carry a comparatively low risk to third parties and a risk for riders which is less than that of bicycle user’s, safety must remain a focus for everyone involved in the e-scooter industry,” the report said.
“RoSPA encourages all e-scooter operators, and manufacturers of private e-scooters, to increase their focus on safety, including product design and manufacture, passive safety features and rider education programmes,” it added.
“We also encourage riders to follow the rules laid down in the Highway Code and to protect themselves by using lights, good road craft and a helmet.”
RoSPA’s executive head of policy and research, Nathan Davies, said: “E-scooters are clearly set to be a long-term feature of our transport mix and it’s of pressing importance that we understand their impact on road safety and how they can be made safe for everyone to use.
“This report shows that e-scooters compare favourably to other kinds of vehicles and do not represent any greater safety risk to other road users and pedestrians. However, there is still a lot of work that needs to be done to ensure they are integrated on our highways and make sure both e-scooter riders and cyclists are offered greater protections from motor vehicles, which were the source of the vast majority of incidents.
“Rental e-scooter operators, like Neuron, taking part in the Department for Transport’s trial schemes have demonstrated a strong commitment to safety and rider education. However, we need to see these initiatives filter across to private sale models, where the majority of incidents occur, to ensure any wider rollout is done with safety as a priority.”
Neuron Mobility’s UK George regional manager, George Symes, added: “As a relatively new mode of transport there is often a misperception that e-scooters present a greater risk than some other forms of transport, but the data shows this simply isn’t true.
“We welcome RoSPA’s report which shows that e-scooters – particularly rental e-scooters – compare very favourably to bikes and motorcycles when it comes to the number of incidents.
“Neuron’s number one focus is safety. We evaluate every incident that takes place in our cities to assess how we can reduce the risk of it happening again.
“Across the UK we have implemented a range of initiatives to make our operations safer, including an online safety course developed with RoSPA, regular ScootSafe events in city centres and universities and incentives for helmet use and safe parking.
“We know that with the right investment in technology, education and infrastructure, e-scooters can be made even safer and more accessible.”
67 thoughts on “E-scooters five times safer for riders than bicycles, claims RoSPA study”
Hmm. I’m not against e
Hmm. I’m not against e-scooters per se but I must say that the number of accidents they are involved in may not be consonant with the number they cause, I do spend quite a lot of time in London swerving around them as they bang on and off pavements – quite a few riders round here seem to have decided that as they’re illegal on both road and pavement they’ll use both as suits, particularly around junctions. One thing that really needs to be sorted is lights, a back light two inches off the ground is no use to anyone, if they are legalized surely mandatory waist-high lights must be part of it?
My experience is much the
My experience is much the same (not saying it trumps the data). Whether I’m cycling or on foot, the overwhelming majority of close passes (including those with actual light contact) come from escooter riders. If I’m riding through my local park, it’s never a cyclist who weaves between me and a pushchair at 30kph+.
That said, they’re never on rental scooters either (of which there are many around here). Perhaps their illegality, and the complete lack of enforcement of that illegality, enhances their attractiveness to the more antisocial? I can certainly see a use case for some of our local young entrepreneurs in being able to travel extremely quickly in near-silence…
Brauchsel wrote:
I think you’re onto something there. Which adolescent without a cause does not wish to cock a snook at social order?
Rendel Harris wrote:
You’ll be calling for mandatory hi-viz tabards next.
mark1a wrote:
What a silly comment. Do you think bicycles shouldn’t have to have lights at night? If you think they shouldn’t, that’s absurd, if you think they should then presumably you will be calling for mandatory high viz tabards next? You don’t have to try and start an argument about everything, you know.
Rendel Harris wrote:
Why is it a problem if the light is so close to the ground? The only time I could see it would be an issue is when being ridden in a hilly location.
I’m guessing because Rendel’s
I’m guessing because Rendel’s assuming that the light doesn’t emit equally brightly at all angles. One nearer to the height of a motorist’s eye level is likely to be closer to the optimum angle for brightness for longer as the distance closes. Not sure if this is significant but it’s difficult to judging distance to lights at night – does having ones lower (most are around car driver eye-level) affect that?
I think more of an issue is that of “no moving lights” and visibility from the side. I think movement *relative* to other lights on a bike is a helpful cue for motorists. All my current tyres have reflective side-walls and one has spoke reflectors – so there’s plenty of side reflectivity and some will move. I’ve always got pedal reflectors / ankle bands of some kind. (The recumbent isn’t extreme enough to see my legs over my head so that doesn’t help but as long as they’ve got their headlights on it seems to be very salient on the road for drivers). Compare with this chap (from Ogmios):
https://youtu.be/9FEO-XKo4cw?t=107
jh2727 wrote:
Because in traffic the main view one gets of a scooter rider is from the waist up, lights just above the ground are frequently obscured by other vehicles, e.g., if I’m overtaking a car on my bike it’s useful for me to know if there is a scooter on the inside, but I certainly won’t be able to see the light at ground level, which I could if it was up higher.
Rendel Harris wrote:
Like flags on recumbents?
My considered opinion – if
My considered opinion – if you need a flag to see a recumbent it’s a) too late as you’re on top of it and b) time to hand in your lishence as you are clearly filtering out everything except for cars, lorries and presumably the edges of the road. (Self driving vehicle maybe? Still looking for the buses to test them…) In my short experience when you sit on one you become about as salient as if you’d taken off all your clothes.
I don’t do much filtering in heavy traffic on mine. Mostly because it’s less fun – because I can’t see much / being closer to exhausts / can’t track-stand it.
I can’t speak for super-low ones e.g. really flat trikes like some racing handcycles. For slightly taller ones – assuming the motorist is looking at all – you should be visible enough even at night. Your head will probably be around a short rider’s backside height (don’t ask).
I have considered one of the following on occasional rides for additional “clown factor” though:
I always took the flag is for
I always took the flag is for side approaches for the driver. Two lane dual carriageway and you have emerged from the side road into traffic. Flag indicates something is in the “gap” for the driver in the right hand lane as wing* mirrors might notbe set to reflect that low.
*couldn’t resist.
chrisonatrike wrote:
I find flags on recumbents pretty useful as a cyclist because if I’m filtering down the right hand side of traffic and there’s a recumbent in traffic on the left, a flag alerts me to their presence when I might not be able to see them over the bonnet of a large SUV, and then I can factor them into any manoeuvre I might be contemplating regarding returning to the left-hand side or moving over to make a left turn.
Good point – but presumably
Good point – but presumably you also cycle with a very tall flag on top of your head in case you’re filtering up the inside of a transit / VW camper / lorry and another cyclist is on the outside?
I’m interested they are that much more frequent where you live. Edinburgh’s a veritable hot-bed (hot back?) of recumbents and if I see one every few weeks it’s notable. As I said it’s extremely rarely I’d be on mine in any kind of heavy traffic. I use an upright for most urban transport – more suitable and avoids the more expensive bike getting dinged. I think it’s a rare recumbent rider (alliterative oxymoron?) that would be filtering past the inside of vehicles when approaching junctions – and not because other cyclists might cut in from the right. No doubt someone will be along to flaunt their recumbent trials skills but personally I’ve not seen e.g. recumbent deliveroo riders.
brooksby wrote:
Good example, yes!
A scooter rider, much like a
A scooter rider, much like a cyclist, doesn’t want to hit a pedestrian. Any collision will inflict as much damage and injury on them as the walker, relatively.
It’s not like car, van or lorry drivers.
eScooters will be great if
eScooters will be great if they get people out of cars rather than simply reducing the amount of walking people do.
I would have thought that the average standard of riding will improve once the average rider isn’t someone who’s happy to break the law, risk points on their driving licence and ride something that could be confiscated by the police at the drop of a hat.
Personally, I think that derestricted eBikes pose a much bigger threat to pedestrians and other road users than eScooters.
Some good points – especially
Some good points – especially about modal split. Example – some UK increases in cycling share were simply some people moving from bus / rail to bike rather than swapping car for bike (London). Probably if you get a scooter it’s similar to if you get a car. You then end up using it for some trips you might otherwise walk, cycle or use public transport for.
I’m ambivalent – I don’t think they’re the end of the world. If they reduced car use then great – but I wonder how much. I hope they’d be a kind of gateway to better infra which could then benefit cylists (power-assisted or not) but again we’ll have to see.
Other than that – they might have mobility benefits to some people maybe? I’d suspect some kind of bike would be better. I hear what others have said – yes they’re not light but they’re a bit easier to store / shift about than eg. an ebike. Not sure how they compare power-wise to a non-pedal-driven ebike. Having more people being moved around by motors rather than getting some exercise / movement? Not exactly a new dawn.
I doubt they’ll reduce much
I doubt they’ll reduce much car use until we see ‘cargo’ e-scooters. People use their cars when they don’t want to carry something.
Car Delenda Est wrote:
You’re quite right, but a cargo e-scooter would be entirely pointless, wouldn’t it, the only advantage e-scooters have over ebikes is that you can fold them up small, a cargo version…
But I just signed up for one
But I just signed up for one on Kickstarter!
I’ve always thought they can
I’ve always thought they can’t be good on our pothole riddled roads with tiny wheels. It’s bad enough on a bike… Or a car!
The first recorded death e
The first recorded death e-scooter death (some minor celeb / influencer) was due to some bump/inspection cover in the road (cycle lane). Although there was also mention of a severely underflated front tyre as well.
What data was used by ROSPA?
What data was used by ROSPA? Hard to imagine scooters are 5x safer. I wonder if it was data from the official schemes only that was used? Users would only need to report if they injured someone else / were injured by someone else, and would likely not report self injuries. Those on illegally used scooters would be less likely to report any injuries.
SaneRebel wrote:
My first thought on this, too.
SaneRebel wrote:
Data that supported the conclusions decided by who was paying for the study.
Where did they get the data
Where did they get the data from to know how far and how many trips were made, especially by illegal scooters.
How did they factor in geofencing ?
Recent weekend trip to Berlin
Recent weekend trip to Berlin with my partner, and she convinced me to try using rental e-scooters to get around. I was pretty hesitant at first, but have to say, I was completely sold on the idea after the first ride. Extremely convenient (and inexpensive) way of getting round the city. Now, as a resident of the Netherlands, I would rather share the bike lanes with these, than with all the motor scooters. One thing that I really liked was that there geofenced areas where you couldn’t park the scooter after a ride. Bloody awful on cobbles though!
On the R4 Today programme it
On the R4 Today programme it’s suggested that along with legalisation will come mandatory helmet wearing (which will never happen, of course, and reduce their attractiveness immediately), but we’d better be alert to that idea spreading to bicycle riders.
I’d love to see a decent
I’d love to see a decent analysis of the psychology and motivations behind these calls for compulsory helmet wearing. My hunch is that the overriding factors are vindictive rather than any genuine, if misguided, seeking after a better world.
But even though (IIRC) you’re
But even though (IIRC) you’re supposed to wear a helmet on those rental e-scooters, how often do you notice a scooterist actually wearing one?
brooksby wrote:
Nope – no such requirement.
Bucks Cycle Cammer wrote:
Not strictly required to but still strongly encouraged (the Guardian article on Wednesday notes that you get a discount with some operators if you upload a picture of yourself wearing a helmet).
OnYerBike wrote:
Encouraging taking photos while using them seems like an, er, ‘interesting’ way of improving safety.
T & C for Voi scooters
T & C for Voi scooters
https://www.voiscooters.com/voi-user-agreement-12rr/
Depends what’s meant by a
Depends what’s meant by a ‘requirement’ though. That doesn’t make it an offence – only a violation of your agreement with Voi. It basically just means that you’re giving them an excuse to cancel your account, and refuse to compensate you in the event of an incident (potentially also to claim damages against you, though that seems unlikely).
In terms of traffic law, scooter users are explicitly exempted from mandatory helmets.
You are also supposed to have
You are also supposed to have a driving license (provisional is fine) when creating an account. How many people using them are school kids again?
Are you certain those are
Are you certain those are rentals?
I thought, as the law
I thought, as the law requires a driving license on the rentals, that the app would need one on registration.
https://www.voiscooters.com/how-to-voi/
AlsoSomniloquism wrote:
The only one I’ve tried in the UK was the scheme in Bournemouth (Beryl?) – I didn’t need my driving license when creating my account, but did the first time I tried renting a scooter. I didn’t have my license handy so hired one of their push bikes instead – which wasn’t terrible.
Kids can’t use the rental scooters… unless an adult with a driving licence activates the account. Given that the driving licence will likely be checked against the payment card (and probably a verification video), if you see kids on a rental scooter, the account will almost certainly belong to their parent.
While I don’t particularly
While I don’t particularly doubt the overall message of ‘risk from scooter use is actually pretty low’, the comparison to bicycles (and even more so to motorcycles) seems likely to be rather apples and oranges. They won’t be getting used for the same variety of trips, in the same contexts.
For starters, assuming they’re using data from the scooter hire schemes, the areas they can be used in will be inherently limited and relatively homogenous – likely with more choice of quiet routes, shared paths, etc. than you’d generally get elsewhere. And the pick up/drop anywhere nature of such schemes will also change the nature of the journeys people choose to make on them.
The trial where I am
The trial where I am restricts the scooters to a circle of about 3 mile radius. Then within that, there are certain busier roads which are geofenced so that the scooter does not work. Not many on the roads and a lot of pavement use.
As you say: apples and oranges.
disagree – scooters are more
disagree – scooters are more likely to be used in busy city centres, so lower mileage and higher risk-per-mile than quieter areas. So the comparison needs to be done carefully
Erm – you say you disagree,
Erm – you say you disagree, but then go on to say that the usage is different. Which agrees with the point I was making.
The risk per mile to cyclists
The risk per mile to cyclists is higher on rural roads than urban ones, especially when considering fatalities:
https://www.cyclinguk.org/press-release/road-casualty-statistics-show-investment-cycle-infrastructure-must-not-be-limited
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/686969/pedal-cycle-factsheet-2017.pdf
Although most city centres
Although most city centres have pedestrianised paths and motor-vehicles going slower due to congestion or other limitations. And I probably see more scooters on pavements then cycles.
It would be interesting how they worked out the mileage usage of all the “illiegal” scooters. Did they just take the legal ones and multiply if by a deduced factor.
“The research found that
“The research found that collision rates for e-scooters were 0.66 per million miles travelled – five times lower than the rate for bicycles (3.33 collisions per million miles travelled), and nine time lower than that of motorcycles (5.88 collisions per million miles travelled).”
There are several ways of presenting data about safety, and by distance travelled is certainly one, but it can produce results which are misleading. Since bicycles are likely to be used for longer journeys, and motorcycles for much longer journeys, I would suggest that it is not a suitable metric for measuring the safety of scooters. A more appropriate measure would be by journey, and I’m pretty sure that if that was used, then scooters would be at least as dangerous as bicycles and motorcycles.
Now I’m not saying that this is misuse of data, but RoSPA does have a history of, shall we say, massaging the figures, especially regarding helmets.
I’ve ridden an escooter a few
I’ve ridden an escooter a few times and frankly they’re an enjoyable ride. There are some handling quirks with power + small wheels, in particular applying starting power while simultaneously turning can catch you out with steering ‘stall’ if you know what I mean. However a bit of experience gets you past that. Where I am, riders seem to be overwhelmingly young adults gleefully ignoring traffic rules so I imagine the proportion of journeys switching away from car use to escooters is minimal. Whatever, it’s clear that escooters are here to stay. Hey, they’re a new target for gammon hate. They might take some of that pressure off cyclists.
Miller wrote:
It may not be switching people away from car use, but it may be preventing people from starting the habit of car use.
I’ve often thought that e-scooters have the potential to be a large part of the active travel movement – especially for younger people.
The challenge is providing infrastructure (as it is, with bikes) and legislation
I am a little concerned that
I am a little concerned that the likely route to legalisation of scooters will involve some form of registration, licencing and compulsory insurance. Once in place for e-scooters there will be noisy pressure to apply it to cyclists.
I am a little concerned
I am a little concerned
I’m not. The police won’t even attempt to enforce the registration etc. for scooters, so any proposals for bikes wouldn’t even be considered.
Robert Hardy wrote:
Suggestion is that e-scooters will be a new category of vehicle – https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/move-electric/uk-government-considering-new-vehicle-class-e-scooters
I would have thought it would be easier to just expand the definition of an “electrically assisted pedal cycle” to include things that don’t have pedals. If they’re not doing that, then I expect the age requirement is going to be higher (16 or 18 instead of 14 for a EAPS). Not sure that registration / licensing / insurance will be required – the police don’t seem to have the resources to enforce that for cars. Also, this government says it hates red tape and loves freeeeeedom!
Most of the complaints about e-scooter trials has been in relation to parking, which shouldn’t be an issue for private e-scooters – https://travelwest.info/app/uploads/2022/04/WECA-x-Voi-escooter-trial-12-Month-Report.pdf
I don’t care. If I have to
I don’t care. If I have to chose between being run over by a Tesla or an eScooter, I’m going to pick the scooter.
Someone who twats themselves on a dual carriageway doing 50mph on an illegally modified scooter is really not my concern.
A bit surprised really, their
A bit surprised really, their small wheels scare me a little, and after having fell during night at a huge road hole with my 28in wheels and didn’t fell, I wouldn’t trust such small wheels.
So never ridden one of them due to safety concerns, but if they are actually safer than cycling, they could may be the Holy Grail of urban transport.
I occasionally have to go
I occasionally have to go over a pedestrian/cycle bridge over a bypass on my commute home, the double back bit is a bit steep and when seeing an escooter rider going up it, he had to help it a bit with a few leg pushes.
“We call it ‘The Envy of
“We call it ‘The Envy of Sisyphus’ – it goes quite nicely uphill if you push it.” – Saki (possibly in “Tobermory”?).
E-scooters are a welcome
E-scooters are a welcome introduction for us cyclists, as in my experience most people seem to hate the e-scooter user even more than cyclists.
In my experience of life it is always good to have someone around that is hated even more than you.
I noticed this recently when the street cannabis dealer died, as he used to get the blame for everything bad that happened.
Now I get the blame – ‘Probaly that crazy guy in no 23 who rides a pushbike’ the neighbours say.
I’ve seen CCTV video of
I’ve seen CCTV video of people walking out of a shop, only to be cleaned up by young males riding e-scooters at high speed along the footpath; that’s the reality of these things.. stupid dangerous toys for juveniles.
grOg wrote:
Which is of course exactly what bike haters say about bikes. Yes they will be used stupidly by juveniles, they can also be used as a sensible and valid means of transport that has the potential to be very useful for people with no room in their property for a bike and/or who want to make hybrid (train/bus then scooter) commutes. If we want to ban modes of transport because some juveniles will use them stupidly on pavements then we’d all have to give up our bikes.
I believe some juveniles and
I believe some juveniles and slightly older than that folk use pavements for their cars and recently one driver tried to run a cyclist over whilst driving on the pavement.
grOg wrote:
I’ve seen reports of a Tory minister watching porn in Parliament. Therefore, using your logic, all MPs must be porn-watching perverts; and that smartphones are stupid, dangerous toys for juveniles.
The noise about the ‘danger’ of e-scooters has been quite ridiculous. Carlton Reid, October 2021:
https://zagdaily.com/featured/the-uk-will-legalise-e-scooters-heres-why/
Simon E wrote:
Thats unfair – they’re not all porn-watching perverts… 😉
brooksby wrote:
Dennis Skinner: Half the Tories on the benches opposite are liars!
Mr Speaker: The gentleman will withdraw that remark.
Dennis Skinner: Alright Mr Speaker, half of the Tories on the benches opposite aren’t liars.
brooksby wrote:
Well they probably are, but most of them choose a non-work time and location.
You should watch channel 5’s
You should watch channel 5’s police interceptors , or indeed any of their police car programmes. Juveniles, and other wrong’uns in motor vehicles, taking people out…
That’s the reality of those things…
grOg wrote:
There’s middle-adged female who rides at about 20mph along the pavement past my house at least twice a day most days.
With regards to kids riding them, the thing I find shocking is the children I see riding to my daughter’s school on them. Regardless of the safety impact, the possibility of a criminal record is something I would have thought school would have sent mail merged letters home about.
I had one in the past.
I had one in the past. Decided to buy it when I had a knee pain for a few months and couldn’t ride that much (which ironically went away when I decided to ride 100km). In the last few years they haven’t evolved much. I think their geometry still has a long way to go. They feel super unstable, and are very hard tricky to go up and down small curbs, even the accessible ones. The aluminium fender of mine broke with the stress caused by the cobbles, I was riding on cobbles and it just broke halfway without me touching it!
On the bright side you can still find them for relatively cheap, and they get you to places.
Disney Pixar nailed it in
Disney Pixar nailed it in their dystopian movie “Wall-E”.
In a not too distant future most human transport will come via updated versions of these electronic scooter devices. I can’t think of a more depressing evolution than this sedentary slide into oblivion.