E-scooter crashes triple in a year and ten riders killed, government figures reveal
3 October 2022, 12:41
Collisions involving e-scooters have tripled in a year, government figures reveal.
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The Department for Transport's annual road casualties report found there were 1,352 reported collisions involving e-scooters, dwarfing the 2020 figure of 460.
Ten people were killed, all of whom were e-scooter riders, and another 421 people were injured - including 67 pedestrians and two cyclists. A further 162 pedestrians suffered minor injuries.
By comparison, 2020 saw one e-scooter fatality and 129 serious injuries.
Separate provisional data from Transport for London suggests there have been two e-scooter deaths in the capital this year.
One involved a 14-year-old girl colliding with a van in March, while another involved 32-year-old Joshim Uddin, who was killed in a "hit and run" by a car in Tower Hamlets in July.
The increase in deaths and serious injuries will add to the ongoing concerns about the dangers of e-scooters, in particular to pedestrians when ridden illegally on the pavements.
The scooters are meant to be limited to 15.5 mph, but some are "fixed" to reach higher speeds.
E-scooters are illegal on public roads, unless they are rented from a government-approved trial scheme.
Jack Cousens, head of roads policy for the AA, said: “As E-scooter trials continue across the country, crashes involving e-scooters rose by 193 per cent in 2021 compared to 2020.
“The wider introduction of micro-mobility into the national transport picture must look at how we can adopt new and emerging personal mobility tech without compromising the safety of all road users, including pedestrians.”
The report also revealed that road deaths had risen 7% on the previous year to 1,558, but that this figure was still 11% below pre-pandemic levels.
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The UK remains the sixth lowest nation in the world for road deaths.
Cyclist deaths were also down by 21% year-on-year, from 141 to 111. In 2019 a total of 100 cyclists were killed.
A total of 4,353 cyclists were reported to be seriously injured and 11,994 slightly injured last year.
Between 2004 and 2021, the number of journeys by bike has risen faster than the number of serious injuries.
Rural roads are where 56% of cycle fatalities occur, while 44% occur on urban roads.
Not wearing a seatbelt contributed to 30 per cent of car deaths last year - rising to 47 per cent at night.
