The Rise of the E-scooter
The Department for Transport has fast tracked a consultation and given the green light for e-scooter rental trial schemes, which present insurers, brokers and our customers with a range of risks and opportunities.
As we travel through our towns and cities it is almost impossible to fail to notice the increased presence of e-scooters sharing space with cars, bicycles and pedestrians.
The current pandemic has produced accelerated demand for individual, emission-free, socially distanced, alternative forms of transport with sales of e-scooters rocketing since the UK entered lockdown in March 2020. In response The Department for Transport fast tracked a consultation and gave the green light for e-scooter rental trial schemes to take place in local authority areas throughout the UK. Since the 4th July 2020 several areas across England including Tees Valley, Milton Keynes and Cambridge have implemented trials, with Transport for London recently launching a competition to select up to three operators for trials to begin in the city in Spring 2021.
These developments are welcomed by many however public awareness of the legal position of e-scooters and the risks associated with their use is lacking. While it is legal to sell and purchase an e-scooter in the UK for personal use, they cannot be legally ridden on public land unless the e-scooter is part of the trial schemes where road and cycle lane use is permitted. As a result many users find themselves falling foul of the law.
It is unclear the extent to which Highways Authorities will have additional responsibilities to maintain the carriageway over and above the existing framework. E-scooters are more likely to be troubled by smaller defects however budgets remain static and case law is yet to develop on this area.
Risk of injury to the e-scooter user is also considerably heightened with the use of helmets recommended but not mandatory. Statistics published in JAMA Network Open from a series of case studies on 228 patients presenting injuries associated with the use of e-scooters at two urban emergency departments in the U.S over a 12 month period are sobering. 10.8% of patients were younger than 18 years and only 4.4% of riders were documented to be wearing a helmet. The most common injuries were head injuries (40.2%), fractures (31.7%), and soft-tissue injuries (27.7%).
We have our eye on what the future may hold as the picture develops and government policy evolves. It seems likely as more and more local authorities commence trials that the government will have to consider further guidance for the wider use of e-scooters. Considerations for the Department for Transport may include whether to allow general use of e-scooters on UK roads and, crucially, whether these should be subject to compulsory insurance requirements.
Another area of uncertainty is the position of uninsured liabilities where an e-scooter rider is responsible. At present these are discharged by the Motor Insurers’ Bureau, as a result of the case Lewis v Tinsdale in which it was held that MIB are effectively an “emanation of the state” and as such are responsible for the failure to enact the Road Traffic Act in line with the European Directive which intended liabilities to extend to any motorised vehicle. If e-scooters are included within compulsory insurance regimes in the future then uninsured use will reduce, however added to the general position of uncertainty is the role of Brexit and whether EU Laws which have been enacted into British law will face substantial repeal.
E-scooters present insurers, brokers and our customers with a range of risks and opportunities, and we look to the future with interest.
