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18
May 2021
E-scooters: scourge of pedestrians or saviour of transport in Harrogate?
E-scooters have been described as both an innovative solution to congestion and air pollution and a danger to pedestrians.
The Stray Ferret published a letter from reader Richard Abbott over the weekend, who said he recently dodged out the way of an e-scooter rider near the Stray.
He called them a "blight" and a "scourge" yet they are likely to become a more familiar sight in places like Harrogate, Knaresborough and Ripon in the coming years.
The government is trialing the use of rented e-scooters in over 30 areas across the UK until August. It thinks they could encourage people to use their cars less and help the country's green recovery post-covid.
What are e-scooters?
E-scooters are similar to regular scooters but have small, electric motors.
Over 100 cities across the world operate scooter-sharing schemes, including Paris and Barcelona, where you can hire one for around €19 an hour.
E-scooters are sold in the UK online and in shops, and they can cost anywhere from just over £100 to £1,000.
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Are they legal?
It is against the law to use a privately owned e-scooter in the Harrogate district. Riders risk a £300 fine, six penalty points on their licence or having their e-scooter impounded.
The government said it will make a decision on legalising e-scooters in the rest of the UK after the trial ends in August.
For the trial, e-scooters are allowed on the road and in cycle lanes provided users have a full or provisional car, motorcycle or moped licence. They are still banned on the pavement and must not go above 15.5mph.
A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Police said it was not aware of e-scooter use being a particularly prevalent issue and added the number of recorded incidents last year was in single figures across the whole of the county.
Sustainable or dangerous?
Mr Abbott's letter to the Stray Ferret provoked a lively response on the Stray Ferret's social media, with some heralding them as a sustainable transport option for the future while others were fearful of injuries.
One person said on Twitter:
Another said:
With the number of e-scooter riders set to increase, the debate is likely to intensify in the years ahead.
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