
Trips made by e-scooters “no more likely to result in death than bicycle journeys” new study concludes.
Recent research released by the OECD (organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) concludes that “a road fatality is not significantly more likely when using a standing e-scooter rather than a bicycle”.
Transport for London (TfL) is aware of 10 serious injuries and 21 slight injuries involving e-scooters in 2019. Unfortunately no further details are available and we do not know what percentage of these figures resulted from collisions with other vehicles as opposed to people simply falling off the scooter.
Figures released by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents show that in 2016 across the UK 18,477 cyclists were injured in road accidents including 3,499 who were killed or seriously injured.
The OECD report recommended that “authorities should create a protected and connected network for micromobility, either by calming traffic or by redistributing space to physically protected lanes for micro-vehicles.”
London’s network of cycle lanes and paths is growing, slowly, with some areas already having excellent provision however further work is required in ensuring routes are interlinked and do not simply stop, forcing users onto shared spaces with cars and other vehicles.
The Green party on the London Assembly recently revealed that £142 million of the cycling budget has been underspent and that total spending has fallen for each of the three successive years since Sadiq Khan became Mayor in 2016.
Links:
https://inews.co.uk/news/technology/e-scooters-no-more-likely-death-bicycle-journeys-cars-1834177