WORK to legalise e-scooters on Jersey’s roads is under way as part of an overhaul of the Island’s ageing traffic legislation.
Despite being illegal to ride on public roads, e-scooters have become an increasingly common sight recently.
Their use is being trialled in numerous parts of the UK, but a recent report highlighted that 900 people have been killed or injured in collisions involving one last year.
The head of roads policing, Inspector Callum O’Connor, said that research was taking place as part of a long-term review of the 1956 Road Traffic (Jersey) Law – which is due to be updated to handle modern issues such as electric scooters.
He explained that officers currently use the ‘Four E’s’ approach – to Engage, Explain, Encourage and Enforce – when addressing illegal usage of e-scooters. The same method, which involves advising and educating those breaking the law before seeking to prosecute them, was used to handle breaches of Covid restrictions.
Under the current rules, e-scooters are illegal to be used anywhere apart from private land. They are classed as motor vehicles – meaning they need to be licensed, insured and meet technical safety standards set out in road traffic legislation to be used on public roads – although officers are encountering them being used unlawfully.
However, Insp O’Connor said that work around ‘how we legalise them for common use’ was taking place.
‘If we are in a position to stop an e-scooter and speak to the user, we will engage with them, speak to them about the laws, explain to them that work is in progress to make them legal but that they are currently illegal. We would go down the steps to finally enforce – if someone is flagrantly disregarding the law then we will prosecute them,’ he added.
A report by the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety examining the safety of private e-scooters in the UK collected records of over 900 people killed or injured in collisions involving an e-scooter in 2021.
Of the casualties, which included other road users and pedestrians, nearly 40% were seriously injured and 12 people died.
Insp O’Connor said: ‘In Jersey the numbers of injuries reported to us through use of e-scooters has remained in single digits over the last five years.’
He added: ‘It’s a difficult topic because various councils and cities in the UK are trialling them and seeing issues with them – so we are looking at how we legalise them in Jersey, register them, make sure people have insurance with them and make them safe.
‘We are engaging with the Infrastructure Minister [Deputy Tom Binet] about how to move this forward and put some legislative framework in around the use of e-scooters.’
Other jurisdictions:
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E-scooters are being trialled in numerous parts of the UK, including Bristol, Liverpool and Essex, with legislation expected to follow in 2024. Users must have at least a provisional driving licence.
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Germany has regulated to allow ‘small electric vehicles’, which include electric scooters, to be used. They are limited to 12.5 mph (20 kph), must have handlebars and may be used on roads or cycle lanes, but not on the pavement. Users must have insurance and the vehicle must be registered, but a driving licence and helmet are not required.
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Paris is currently considering banning e-scooter rental fleets after an increase in road deaths involving riders. In 2021, 24 people died in scooter-related accidents in France, including one in Paris.
