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Letter: Who are the mindless New Forest parents buying these escooters?




This letter has been prompted by observing the number of e-scooters I have seen in recent months being ridden both on the road and on the pavement by not only teenagers, but children as young as 9-12 years.

Who are these mindless parents who buy these scooters, open their front doors and tell their kids to go and play with the traffic? No training and no instruction. The mind boggles!

E-scooter (stock)
E-scooter (stock)

First of all, apart from an approved few, these scooters cannot be ridden on pavements, roads or in cycle lanes that come under the umbrella of public highways. Private land usage is fine with the land owners’ permission.

An e-scooter is currently classed as a motorised vehicle and, as such, would normally be subject to road fund licence, insurance, MOT (if applicable) etc, but as they are illegal one could not even get insurance even if one wanted it.

Some of these scooters are capable of speeds of up to 40mph and, no, riders do not have to wear a crash helmet either. Only the really stupid people ignore that point.

So what if the child gets caught by the police? There is a statutory fine of £300 (presumably paid by the parents) and six points on their licence plus the possible confiscation of their machine. Aha, I hear people say, too young to have a licence? No problem. These points are held over and are added to their licence once they have passed their driving test.

Their problems are only just beginning, however. Currently, any new driver that has six points on their licence within two years of passing their test can have their licence revoked and forced to take their test again. Pause for thought?

However, with the gain in popularity of these machines, the law is being looked at to bring e-scooters in line with other modes of transport. The whole subject is a mish-mash at the moment, but as the law currently stands, if you get clobbered now, it is something you or your child could regret later in life. Think!

John F Walsh

Address supplied



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