E-scooter riders who injure pedestrians could face two years in jail

E-scooter riders who injure pedestrians could face two years in jail under new tougher sentencing guidelines

• The Sentencing Council told judges to prosecute dangerous e-scooter riders 

E-scooter riders who injure pedestrians could now face two years in jail under new tougher sentencing guidelines.

Judges and magistrates have been told by the Sentencing Council that they should use section 35 of the Offences Against the Person Act of 1861 to prosecute e-scooter riders and cyclists for injuring pedestrians by ‘wanton or furious driving’. 

In the most serious cases, the law – which has been used to prosecute cyclists – carries a maximum sentence of 24 months.

This includes riding in ‘significant excess’ of the 12.5mph speed limit, deliberately ignoring the rules of the road or disregarding risk of danger to others.

It also stretches to highly dangerous manoeuvres and riding while ‘impaired’ by drink or drugs,’ The Telegraph reports.

(File Photo) E-scooter riders who injure pedestrians could now face two years in jail under new tougher sentencing guidelines

Linda Davis (pictured), 71, died last June six days after a teenager riding a privately owned scooter crashed into her Rainworth, Nottinghamshire 

It comes after more than 230 pedestrians were injured by e-scooters in the last year, according to the Department for Transport. 60 out of the 234 cases resulted in a serious injury.

READ MORE: Moment driver narrowly avoids hitting a young girl on her scooter as she tries to overtake a supermarket delivery van

In February, a 14-year-old boy admitted causing the death of a grandmother he crashed into while he was riding an e-scooter on the pavement.

Linda Davis, 71, died last June six days after being hit by the privately owned scooter in Rainworth, Nottinghamshire. The boy was handed a 12-month referral order at Nottingham Youth Court in March.

Since 2019, there have been 32 deaths involving e-scooters in the UK, according to the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (PACTS).

They include 14-year-old Fatima Abukar, who suffered a head injury while riding a private scooter in East Ham, east London, last March, and Mason Pitt, 18, who suffered a neck injury when he fell from a rental scooter in Slough, Berkshire, in June.

Meanwhile off the road, there was also major controversy when an e-scooter exploded in Brent, north west London, while charging. This prompted rail companies to impose a blanket ban on almost all trains and platforms in Britain amid mounting fears over fire risks. 

The London Fire Brigade said they attended more than 116 fires involving e-scooters and e-bikes in 2022. 

(File Photo) More than 230 pedestrians were injured by e-scooters in the last year, according to the Department for Transport. 60 out of the 234 cases resulted in a serious injury

Off the road, there was also major controversy when an e-scooter exploded (pictured) in Brent, north west London, while charging

On the roads, Dr Rachel Lee, policy and research manager of Living Streets, welcomed the tougher sentencing guidelines but called on the Government to regulate the design and use of e-scooters.

‘The updated guidelines to bring e-scooter offences in line with cycling ones will ensure consistency and help deter reckless and dangerous actions from e-scooter users. The laissez faire approach to this behaviour could not be allowed to continue,’ she told The Telegraph.

‘A more pressing issue is the need for legislation to regulate the use and design of almost a million privately owned e-scooters on our roads and the enforcement of law to stop their use on pavements.’

As it stands, e-scooters are either able to rent through the Government’s trial schemes or they can be purchased privately.

Technically, it is illegal to ride a private e-scooter on Britain’s roads and pavements but this is rarely enforced.

Analysis from PACTS previously found nine out of 10 e-scooter deaths were linked to illegal vehicles.

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