E-Scooters: I've seen it all now
Whilst walking down the busy main corridor at the Royal Derby Hospital yesterday a guy in, I would say, his early twenties, (I'm 99% certain he wasn't staff), came out of the doors of one of the side clinics pushing an E-scooter. Once into the main corridor he promptly jumped on his scooter and proceeded to ride it, weaving through the people walking along the corridor. The corridor is not particularly wide and people are walking in both directions. Any one of them could have been hit by this idiot.
He had obviously ridden his scooter illegally to get to the hospital and then taken it in with him. Where was the hospital security? No where to be seen unfortunately.
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John, a couple of months ago we were heading down the M6 from the M56 turnoff towards Knutsford and there was a guy riding an e-scooter, without a helmet, on the hard shoulder and texting or doing something similar on his mobile phone. We couldn't believe our eyes. I have no idea where he joined the M6 either. I thought that cameras viewing the motorway were always monitored.
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Twice in the last week we have seen in our small town a man on a sitting down e scooter and as he is a small man no helmet and in dark clothes and when he goes around about difficult again to see him and not going that slow either no lights will get hit sometime.
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Here in Lanzarote you take a risk everytime you walk along the sea front.
Everywhere there are escooters, you can pick them up to hire all over the place and just leave them anywhere when you finish with them.
There has already been several accidents with them, the ones you hire here are big heavy machines so will do significant harm if hit by one.
There is a special marked area along the front for bikes and scooters but they do tend to travel at a great speed and wind in and out of padestrians as well.
Flipping nuisance in such a crowded area.
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It did cross my mind that they could be a good alternative for electric bikes in the motorhome, much more compact. I should perhaps pluck up the courage to try one of the hire ones in MK which is one of the places experimenting with them.
David
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David, I don't see an electric scooter as an alternative to an Ebike..would anyone seriously consider travelling, say, 15 miles out and back on even B roads?
nipping to Tesco, perhaps, but no room for shopping...
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They are everywhere in Spain now BB, campsite staff use them on some sites.
There doesn't seem to be any restrictions on them, no helmuts, 2 or even 3 at a time riding them even children, not sure what age they are allowed.
DK, when out in France/Spain recently we did see a few MH folk with scooters, seemed to be just for fun though. Not very practical for going and getting the shopping
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BB
We wouldn't go for a 15 mile bike ride anyway. Even electric bikes can cause problems when you have a knee condition!
David
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E scooters are illegal in this country to ride anywhere except on private land with the landowners permission. The hire ones that are on trial in this country are the only ones you can ride legally in public areas at the moment, whether this changes after the trials is up to the government.
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Like many 'illegal' things the police are possibly, and unfortunately, forced into ignoring many misdemeanours because they are overstretched. Yesterday, a police car in a relatively slow line of traffic drove past a teenage girl riding an e-scooter on the pavement. There was no attempt to stop her.
If these potentially dangerous events are ignored, what are the police going to do about the new highway code rules that have come into force? The first is that any car turning left off a road must stop and allow any pedestrians, standing on the corner, to cross the road. The second is that in some circumstances (and I don't know what they are), cyclists must ride down the middle of their side of the road so that they can be seen by following motorists. Does anyone who approves these rules ever think of the possible consequences? Again, I don't think the police will ever bother to take any action following an infringement. They don't for most other highway code infringements even when repeatedly told about them.
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Enforcement is not really the answer. We can’t uninvent e-scooters so provision will need to be made for them in future road schemes in the same way as cycle lanes. Some countries are quite good as it, the UK less so. In responsible hands and dedicated scooter/cycle lanes they seem a great way of getting around in urban settings.
I think cars have always been required to give way to pedestrians at junctions? Personally I think it’s a nice idea, but it’s much safer to assume it’s never going to happen. The statute book is full of ridiculous laws.
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There are new changes to the highway code coming into effect in January. These now give a new hierarchy for road users with those that can cause the greatest harm giving way to others and so cars 'must' give way to cyclists and cyclists to pedestrians, horses to cyclists and so on.
Changes are being made to the Highway Code to increase protection for cyclists, horse riders and pedestrians.
The new rules are due to be instated in January and will make it law for motorists to show more care and consideration for these groups
There are also set distances for overtaking cyclists. I think they come into effect on the 29th?
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You can get the ones with a detachable seat & a temp basket to strap on both the H/bars & behind the seat. Way more fun than the bikes👍🏻. DK, try it you may be surprised by them, tip-get one of the foldies they are no problem to carry, a good one will have B/tooth to check on the batt status & even on the H/bar readout on the really good ones. If you hire local they’ll give you a run thru & tips. They’re not just fun they are a good alternative for Moho answers re popping into town👍🏻
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It’s very good news, but it needs to be backed up with a public information campaign, as only those with a vested interest, (cyclists, horse riders and those learning to drive) will be aware.
We lost a number of acquaintances killed riding their horses. My OH had the awful task of being officer in charge at an RTA that killed a young 14 year old we stabled alongside, out on her horse, and he had to hold down the badly injured horse while the vet put it out of its pain. Truly horrific.0 -
+1 and sad to hear all that
From what I've read there will be one once the new rules come into effect.
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The most concerning of the new HC Rules is the one giving right of way for cyclists to overtake or undertake a vehicle that is indicating to turn left at a junction. I have often thought that a cyclist undertaking a vehicle that is indicating left is at the very least lacking in common sense however, it appears that the rule makers are as bad as the rule will require the vehicle driver indicating to turn left to wait until there is a gap in the undertaking cyclists however many there are until completing the turn.
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Horse riding is one of the few activities where age related ability is fairly level. You get superb child riders, and you get appalling adult riders. You cannot of course on approach in a vehicle tell just how competent the rider is, so caution and a wide berth are always the safest choice. The unpredictable element is always the equine, some are known as bomb proof in road traffic, yet a floating plastic bag will send them all over😱 The British Horse Society runs a Riding and Road Safety Award that many Riding Schools, Livery Yards etc… promote to riders to help them if they have to use public roads. They also have Regional Road Safety/Bridleways representatives who will monitor incidents, record statistics and lobby local authorities for signage.
You are right to be cautious. Most vehicles involved in equine related incidents get badly damaged. Although not usually as badly damaged as the horse and rider.
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I think that is called attempting to stop a cyclist being squished because some arrogant car driver believes they should use their vehicle as a weapon. All you need is to use mirrors or crazily-turn your head to ensure others safety. The rule makers are doing the intelligent thing, they are making a very good decision to help save life.
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Some drivers and some cyclists are a dangerous combination. There are car drivers who don’t take enough care in respect of cyclists, but there’s no shortage of cyclists who act recklessly, especially in the big cities where both parties often have a bad attitude to each other. As for some Deliveroo riders…..don’t get me started!
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If cycle pilots decide to under take a vehicle that is signalling a left turn then they deserve to get hit!If cycle pilots decide to ride 2 abreast in the middle of a carriageway they are surely causing an obstruction on the Queens highway and should be prosecuted.This is yet another set of "rules" that have not been thought about correctly.
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So it’s OK to hit a cyclist if you think he’s done something stupid, is it?
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Have you ever tried to see down all of the side of an HGV there are small areas that you don’t have a view of looking through the mirrors. As for turning your head it is not like a car, most of the vehicle does not have windows. Most HGV’s have a notice on the rear nearside warning of this.
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The Netherlands used to have awful accident/death statistics of cyclists killed and injured in road accidents in the years before the 1980s when they became more enlightened and started to introduce their fantastic bike lanes and change of attitude culture that they currently enjoy so it can be done but only if the governing body attempts to do it by bringing everyone on board and providing the finance.
Nowadays they have one of the safest environments to cycle in and I believe that if a motorist is involved in an accident with a cyclist then the motorist is assumed to be the guilty party unless proven otherwise. I accept this last sentence may be hearsay but it was told to me by more than 1 Dutchman. I blame them if I'm wrong!!
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Law or no law, it’s a daft cyclist that gets down the side of a HGV in the expectation that they’re visible.
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It does make one wonder who thought it a good idea to allow idiot cyclists, who obey very few road rules, to have right of way when passing, on the nearside, as some do at speed, of a left turning large vehicle who's driver is trying to negotiate other traffic,
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Quite honesly if you think it is arrogent to clearly indicate your intention to turn left and assume that a cyclist approaching from the rear will use a certain amount of common sense and sense of self preservation then you really should not be driving anything. As for "The rule makers are doing the intelligent thing", they have given up trying to enforce the rules and succumbed to a vociferous cycling lobby who are never satisfied, rules of the road should be the same for everyone.
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