Baroness Anne McIntosh of Pickering raised the issue in the House of Lords yesterday, asking: “Do I not have the expectation as a pedestrian to be able to walk safely along a pavement without the risk of being mown down by an e-scooter?

“For what reason are e-scooters still excluded from the Highway Code and when does my noble friend and the Department [of Transport] imagine that death and injury caused by cyclists and e-scooters will be put on the same basis as other motoring offences?”

Transport Minister Baroness Charlotte Vere replied: “E-scooters are currently illegal expect for temporary trials and that is why they are not in the Highway Code.”

Anne McIntosh has questioned why e-scooters are not covered by the Highway Code.

Private e-scooters cannot currently legally be used in the UK except on private land, but are a common sight on roads and pavements in urban areas.

Dozens of legalised e-scooter rental schemes have been launched in towns and cities across Britain including York and Middlesbrough since July 2020 as part of Government trials, despite long-running safety concerns about the devices.

The maximum speed for an e-scooter is 15.5mph and even in trial areas they are not allowed to be used on pavements but can be on roads and cycle lanes.

Those found to have used an e-scooter illegally could face fines, points on their licence and having the vehicle impounded.

But there have been growing concerns about their usage becoming more widespread.

Last month, new figures showed e-scooters had been involved in 258 collisions in London in the first six months of 2021 compared with just nine during the whole of 2018.

Some 3,637 privately-owned e-scooters were seized by the Metropolitan Police between January and November 2021.

Labour’s London Assembly policing and crime spokesman Unmesh Desai said at the time: “The use of illegal e-scooters on our roads and pavements is putting Londoners at risk of significant harm, especially the most vulnerable in our communities such as people with limited mobility, visual impairments and hearing loss.

“Whilst it is concerning that these figures are likely to be just the tip of the iceberg, it has been encouraging to see the scale of enforcement action taken by Transport for London and the Met Police so far.”

In December, the Guide Dogs charity called for action to tackle illegal riding of e-scooters after conducting a study of the impact of a collision with pedestrians.

An initial impact of hitting a pedestrian at 15.5 mph could cause moderate injury but it could be worse if someone falls and hit their head on the ground, its report said.

Chris Theobald, from the charity, said: “The trials of e-scooter hire schemes have sparked a boom in private sales. We are urging the Government to work with the police to tackle illegal riding and make the public more aware of the law.

“If the Government is seriously considering fully legalising e-scooters on public roads, they need to get a grip on safety.

“Our testing shows that everybody is at risk, not just people with visual impairments.

“Any legislation to legalise e-scooters has to fully address speeds, weights, sound, and critically, keep e-scooters off the pavement where they can do

significant harm.”

Police warning over e-scooters after five-year-old struck and injured..

Support The Yorkshire Post and become a subscriber today. Your subscription will help us to continue to bring quality news to the people of Yorkshire. In return, you'll see fewer ads on site, get free access to our app and receive exclusive members-only offers. Click here to subscribe.

Highway Code warning over protecting pedestrians from e-scooters by Yorkshire peer