A WOMAN who suffered a broken leg when she was hit by an e-scooter wants to raise awareness of “how dangerous they are” and has called for legislation governing their use to “catch up fast”.
Sarah Highfield was walking her eight-year-old rescue dog Buddy up Patier Road in St Saviour at about 7.50am on the May Day Bank Holiday, when 25-year-old Toby Woolley collided with her.
Woolley, who also crashed into a wall and injured his face, was arrested by the States police shortly after.
It is currently illegal to ride e-scooters on public roads, although the Island’s head of roads policing – Inspector Callum O’Connor – last year explained that officers were trying to advise and educate those breaking the law before seeking to prosecute them.
Woolley initially denied the charges of illegally using an e-scooter, causing serious injury by riding it carelessly, and failing to report the accident.
However, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced in the Magistrate’s Court to a total of 130 hours of community service – and was disqualified from driving for 18 months.
He was also fined £1,000 and ordered to pay compensation of £5,000.
Ms Highfield, who was treated by paramedics, explained that her left fibula was broken as a result of the accident.
She said: “We were walking on the pavement. I saw him from a distance, and he was on the road coming down. The next thing, he hit me, and I was tumbling through the air. He ended up 12 feet behind me with his head against the wall.
“He was lying on the pavement without moving. I shouted if he was ok and he didn’t respond, so I rang for an ambulance. But when he came around, he got up, put his helmet back on and scooted off. Fortunately, the police found him quickly.”
She continued: “I am a nanny and had to take seven weeks off work. I was on crutches for a long time and couldn’t drive for a few weeks, but I was then able to borrow an automatic car from my brother-in-law.
“Buddy did not get hit but he got muscle damage in his legs because he was pulled when I got hit. He is now very scared when any vehicle comes close.
“My leg is ok now, but my back is still a mess and I’m waiting for an MRI scan to see if it is fractured.”
She explained that, following the accident, she wanted to make people aware of e-scooters – describing them as “powerful machines that fall outside of the law”.
She said: “It seems to me that the law needs to catch up, and fast.
“Some parents might be buying them for their children, unaware of how dangerous they are. Without a helmet, the rider could have suffered some serious head injuries, possibly even worse.”
Insp O’Connor also said last December that work around “how we legalise them [e-scooters] for common use” 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.
Ms Highfield said: “Because they are illegal on public roads, they are completely unregulated, with no apparent need for lights, helmets, insurance or abiding by a speed limit.
“They need a status in law and a requirement to be insured. The fact is, if the rider had stopped and waited for the police, he could not have been charged with anything.”
– e-scooters are illegal to be used anywhere apart from private land.
– 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.
