The Department of Transport is in consultation over what rules should be administered to e-scooters on the UK’s roads, this includes insurance
Electric scooters (e-scooters) will be trialled on UK public roads for the first time as the government is soon set to legalise them.
It is part of a wider plan by the Department for Transport’s (DfT) plan for micromobility vehicles.
The trial will assess what new restrictions should be put in place, including insurance, as well as setting a minimum age for riders, speed limits, licensing and helmets.
The DfT is currently consulting on what rules might be required to allow the new technology to operate safely.
This is according to the DfT’s report ‘Future of Transport Regulatory Review: Call for Evidence’ which aims to start “national conversation about how government and other regulators respond to a new wave of change in transport”.
It said: “We are seeking views and further information on the risk presented by micromobility vehicles to determine whether they should be treated like mopeds rather than EAPCs (electrically assisted pedal cycles) for insurance purposes.
”This would require users to have some form of insurance. This could be motor insurance or a third-party liability and personal accident insurance product, similar to the insurance that some cyclists seek voluntarily.”
The call for evidence began on 16 March and it seeks views and evidence on a general approach to regulating e-scooters as well as other micromobility vehicles such as self-balancing vehicles will run until the 16 May.
No data
Alistair Kinley, director of government affairs and policy at law firm BLM told Insurance Times he is concerned that as e-scooters are so new there is no historical data on them.
“Any data on the cause or cost of accident relating to the use of e-scooters would be really important for insurers looking to design products. I don’t think there is particularly strong data on how risky these things are, there has been one very high-profile death,” he said.
When asked about insurance requirements for e-scooters, Kinley said if they are going to be used on the roads and classified as motor vehicles then the option would be to use some form of motor insurance of which he believes is a debate that needs to be had.
“If there is firm evidence that the risk that they pose to other road users would be commensurate with a different insurance requirement then that is going to need to come up during this process,” Kinley said.
He gave the example of electric bikes and mopeds being compared to e-scooters.
Kinley said it could come down to what the e-scooter is closer to conceptually that will influence the final decision.
He said some form of minimum training to drive an e-scooter should be a requirement such as knowledge of road signs.
In terms of insurance, Kinley suggested motor insurance and public liability cover if they are used as personal vehicles.
When considering safety measures Kinley said speed restrictions, user competence (age limits, licensing), design of kit (functioning such as signalling/brakes) and whether e-scooters should share cycle lanes.
The parliamentary under-secretary of state for transport Rachel Maclean added: “We want transport to be cleaner, safer, healthier, greener, cheaper, more convenient and more inclusive. As regulators we will judge every innovation on whether it serves those ends or undermines them.”
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