West Midlands crime commissioner urges caution over legalising private e-scooters for use on roads
Lessons must be learned from trials in the West Midlands before the possibility of legalising private e-scooters for use on roads, the region's crime commissioner has said.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has indicated that private e-scooters could be legalised for use on roads.
The Cabinet minister said legislation will be included in the Queen's Speech on May 10.
E-scooters can currently only be used on England's roads if they are part of trials of rental schemes, which involve safety features such as maximum speeds of 15.5mph and automatic lights.
Those that are privately owned are legally restricted for use on private land, but are a common sight in towns and cities.
But West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster has warned of the dangers and says lessons must be learned from trials before pressing ahead with these plans.
He said: “Private e-scooters have been a danger on our roads for far too long because the government has failed to act.
“Sadly, lives have been lost and people have been seriously injured because of this delay.
“But the impact has been wider than that. Last year, there were more than 200 reports of anti-social-behaviour involving e-scooters to West Midlands Police.
“Before the government changes the law, I would like to be reassured that lessons have been learned from the legal e-scooter trials that exist here in the West Midlands.
“Whilst e-scooters are potentially a positive green form of transport, they must be regulated to ensure that appropriate safety rules are firmly in place, speed limits are applied and people are clear where and how they can be ridden.”
Mr Shapps earlier told the Commons Transport Select Committee that "in the future I want to crack down on the illegal use on roads of non-compliant e-scooters".
Committee member Simon Jupp said there have been "900 collisions, 11 of which were fatal".
He expressed concern that Mr Shapps' comments indicate the Department for Transport is considering allowing private e-scooters to be used on roads as long as they meet similar safety specifications as those in the trials.
Mr Shapps replied: "We will take powers to properly regulate and then be able to decide the usage of them.
"They're a reality, they exist.
"If these things exist they need to be made safe, and I think the trials have been useful in gathering data and there's more data still to gather."
