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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World
Ross Lydall

Hundreds of Londoners injured in e-scooter crashes, figures reveal

File photo

(Picture: Getty Images)

Almost 300 Londoners were injured in e-scooter crashes last year, it has been revealed.

The Government figures - which are likely to be a underestimate - showed there were 483 people hurt and one killed across Britain in 2020.

This includes 291 injuries reported to the Metropolitan police - equating to 60 per cent of the national total - and five to the City of London police.

Separate data from Transport for London shows there have been three e-scooter deaths in the capital this year. The victims have been named as Michael Harris, Anthony Mumford and Junior Shay Alexander.

These fatalities happened in Long Lane, Southwark, in June, and in Southborough Lane, Bromley, and Heath Road, Twickenham, in July.

Mr Harris, 44, died several weeks after being allegedly hit by a car in Long Lane.

Cobbler Anthony Mumford, 53, was on his way home when he was thrown from his e-scooter in Twickenham. His partner had bought him the vehicle for his birthday.

Teenager Junior Shay Alexander, 16, was struck by a car in Bromley.

YouTube star Emily Hartridge was the first e-scooter rider to die in London, when she was involved in a collision with a lorry in Battersea in July 2019.

Nationally there were 128 serious injuries and 355 slight injuries last year, the Department for Transport report said today.

E-scooter riders accounted for the bulk of those injured (384 cases) followed by 57 pedestrians and 21 cyclists.

The data includes privately owned e-scooters - which are illegal to use on public roads - and those available for rental in Government-backed trials.

The figures showed a dramatic increase in injuries throughout the year, from fewer than 10 in January to more than 80 in December. Male teenagers and men in their twenties were the most frequently injured.

The total of 484 compares with 115,584 road deaths and injuries across the country last year.

In London, Transport for London is trialling rental scooters in 10 boroughs. Camden became the latest borough to join on Monday.

Since the trial launched in June, involving the operators Dott, Lime and Tier, more than 165,000 trips have been made. TfL’s most recent report said five serious injuries had been reported by the operators by the end of August.

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