E-scooter riders ARE more reckless than cyclists, study finds

Electric scooter users are more likely to ride drunk and ride helmetless than cyclists, according to a study. Emily Hartridge was the first person killed in an e-scooter crash in Britain when she crashed into a lorry in 2019 She was riding the vehicle on a busy roundabout in Battersea, south-west London, when she was hit by a lorry and killed in July 2019 The reported number of casualties in collisions involving e-scooters skyrocketed in the UK in 2021 The most common age of person involved in a collision with an e-scooter, not including the rider, was aged between 50 and 59 It comes amid a fierce debate around whether they should be rolled out in the UK amid safety concerns. Based on provisional data, in the UK in 2021: there were 1,280 collisions involving e-scooters, compared to 460 in 2020 of all collisions involving e-scooters, 309 included only one e-scooter with no other vehicles involved in the collision, compared to 83 in 2020 there were 1,359 casualties in collisions involving e-scooters, compared to 484 in 2020 of all casualties in collisions involving e-scooters, 1,034 were e-scooter users, compared to 384 in 2020 there were 9 killed in collisions involving e-scooters compared to 1 in 2020 our best estimate, after adjusting for changes in reporting by police, is that there were 390 seriously injured and 960 slightly injured casualties in 2021, this compares to 129 and 354 respectively in 2020 Source: Department for Transport The UK Government is considering whether to legalise e-scooters to help cut traffic congestion and pollution. While most bike injuries happen between 6am and 6pm, e-scooter injuries were more common between 5pm and 5am UK Department of Transport graph shows the number of reported casualties in collisions involving e-scooters for 2020 and 2021. There are more male than female e-scooter user casualties, especially amongst those aged between 10 and 39 UK data shows the number of reported casualties other than e-scooter users in collisions involving e-scooters by age in 2020 and 2021.