Retailers have launched a safety crackdown on electric scooters after a call from London transport chiefs to prevent their use on public roads, the Evening Standard can reveal.
Amazon, Halfords and Aldi agreed to add warnings to online adverts and in-store displays of e-scooters, making it clear that they are illegal to use on roads and pavements.
They were among six leading retailers to receive a letter from Will Norman, London’s walking and cycling commssioner. It followed the death of “10 Reasons Why” YouTube star Emily Hartridge, 35, after a collision with an HGV in Battersea on July 12.
The next day a 14-year-old boy suffered a serious head injury after crashing into a bus stop in Beckenham.
Mr Norman told the retailers that “significant concerns” remained about e-scooter safety, while the number of Londoners using them was “multiplying”. A Government review of the law on e-scooters has been launched.
Mr Norman wrote: “As things stand the legal position is unchanged, and it is vital that accurate information is provided to customers purchasing these vehicles at the point of sale. I encourage you strongly to increase your efforts in this regard.”
Amazon told the Standard it was updating its policies and planned to advise customers and sellers of possible legal restrictions across Europe.
It said: “We are also writing to UK sellers informing them that product descriptions/images must not suggest it is legal to use e-scooters on public roads or streets (including cycle lanes and pavements).”
A Halfords spokesman: “Halfords has responded to Will Norman’s letter and we are engaged in working with the Government on the regulatory review to achieve the highest standards of public safety for e-scooters. UK legislation makes clear that they should only be ridden on private property with the owner’s consent and we make this guidance very clear online and in our shops.”
Aldi said an e-scooter, which will go on sale as a limited online “Specialbuy” this month, would contain guidance on the box, the scooter itself and on the front of the instruction manual.
It reads: “WARNING! Not for use on public roads, pavements or cycle paths. Only intended for use on private land with the owner’s permission. Use on smooth, dry, paved surfaces only; not suitable for use on rough ground, e.g. ‘Off Road’.”
At present, riders face a £300 fixed penalty notice and six points on their driving licence for using e-scooters on pavements or public roads. The Met and City of London police have been targeting riders since July.
In the first month, officers issued more than 200 warnings, seized 30 e-scooters and made one arrest.
TfL commissioner Mike Brown has met Department for Transport ministers to discuss the “huge challenge” in tackling them. He was in Stockholm recently, where he witnessed a “huge proliferation”. He said the combination of their small wheels and high speed meant riders could easily be knocked off by a bump in the road — or even hitting something as innocuous as a “ring pull from a drinks can”.
Mr Brown added: “I make no apologies for continuing to pursue a proper enforcement and regulatory regime with the Government.
“We are trying to get public awareness out there. In no sense should this ever be seen by people as luddites in terms of new technology.
“This is a public safety issue.”
