A police chief in Kent has told officers to “seize and crush” e-scooters that have been ridden illegally so residents “don’t have a summer blighted by anti-social vehicles”.
E-scooters are illegal to ride on public land in the UK unless they are part of a rental trial scheme. E-scooters were available to rent in Canterbury under a pilot scheme for two years before it ended in November.
Matthew Scott, police and crime commissioner for Kent, has urged officers to crack down on people still using e-scooters on footpaths and roads under a perception the vehicles have become “decriminalised” following the trial scheme.
He told a police and crime panel: “The panel knows my view on e-scooters, seize them and crush them, because they are not legal on any public land in Kent now that we don’t have the trial down in Canterbury.
“I don’t want the perception to rise that they have effectively been decriminalised when they are in fact not road safe, not road legal and should not be on our roads.”
Mr Scott added that he “will continue the messaging around that and I will hold the force to account... to make sure we don’t have a summer blighted by anti-social vehicles.”
The trial was launched in Canterbury in November 2020 with e-scooter operater Bird, but Kent County Council decided to “gradually reduce the number of vehicles in the trial, as well as the areas in which they operate, ahead of the trial finishing in Kent at the end of November”.
This was despite Bird reducing the speed limit from 15mph to 12mph and changing their rider policy to introduce “an immediate ban for any misdemeanour”.
My comments at last week’s Police and Crime Panel about escooters: pic.twitter.com/ypBuIdYudH
— Matthew Scott (@matthewinkent) July 3, 2023
Since June 2021 e-scooters have been available to rent in a number of London boroughs from operators Dot, Lime and Tier under a trial scheme.
The trial, approved by the Department for Transport, is expected to last until September 2023.
Transport for London (TfL) said: “We want to explore new, environmentally-friendly forms of transport that can be used to reduce road congestion in London - but we need to make sure that any alternatives are safe for both users and non-users alike.”
TfL has announced it is seeking to procure new operators to take part in the trial beyond September 2023, while the scheme could be made permanent after May 2024 when the national trial period comes to an end.
The number of serious injuries involving the use of illegal private e-scooters has soared, while two deaths were recorded in London in 2022.
But Will Norman, London’s walking and cycling commissioner, has said e-scooters can “play a useful role” in London’s transport network by “offering alternatives to car use”.
There are 30 government trials in place across England.
Local authorities in England have been given the option to continue trials until the end of May 2024, with the scooters involved maintaining a 12.5mph speed limit.
It is estimated there are one million e-scooters in the UK, many being ridden illegally.
Figures released last year by the Metropolitan Police revealed that they had seized 3,600 in a year, The Telegraph reports.
