Guide Dogs charity wants to stop illegal use of e-scooters to protect disabled pedestrians from injury

The Guide Dogs charity is calling for action to tackle illegal riding of e-scooters after conducting a study of the impact of a collision with pedestrians.

An initial impact of hitting a pedestrian at 15.5 mph could cause moderate injury but it could be worse if someone falls and hit their head on the ground, its report said.

A test was commissioned by Guide Dogs to raise awareness about the dangers of illegally used, privately owned e-scooters.

Chris Theobald, of Guide Dogs, said: “The trials of e-scooter hire schemes have sparked a boom in private sales, and we expect even more e-scooters to be bought as Christmas presents this month.

“We are urging the Government to work with the police to tackle illegal riding and make the public more aware of the law.

“If the Government is seriously considering fully legalising e-scooters on public roads, they need to get a grip on safety.

“Our testing shows that everybody is at risk, not just people with visual impairments.

“Any legislation to legalise e-scooters has to fully address speeds, weights, sound, and critically, keep e-scooters off the pavement where they can do significant harm.”

Private e-scooters cannot legally be used in the UK except on private land, but are a common sight on roads and pavements in urban areas.

Dozens of legalised e-scooter rental schemes have been launched in towns and cities across Britain since July 2020 as part of Government trials, despite long-running safety concerns about the devices.