Id do more harm to myself than others I think!.
That seems an odd way to go about things, to only enforce the law in a limited and specific sense...give some people an inch and they'll always take a yard or mile. Over time won't it just lead to a rising tide of lawlessness and a corrosive effect on respect, expectations from the LAW, even among those previously inclined to respect and look to the Law...for the ne'r do wells it'd be empowering I imagine.
slight segue/ segway hehe, what's the official position on weed now in the UK...I haven't been back for a couple of years but it certainly smelled, in London, like every man and his dog felt 'empowered' to light up without fear or favour...is it more or less tolerated nowadays, at least in the pro active policing sense, providing minimal discretion´is applied...likewise growing?
Last edited by Passenger; 1st January 2022 at 23:36.
Police Constables are mainly young and most young people think scooters are beneficial to society and should be encouraged. Therefore prosecutions will be either low or non existent.
They also take the view that when you walk the streets you should be agile enough to move out of the way without it being a big deal and also should not jump out of your skin when one creeps up behind you. If you cannot accept scooters as being normal, then stay away from the streets because you are now a bloody nuisance clogging up the pavement.
Basically their message is adapt to modern living or stay away.
Sounds more or less like a free for all to all intents and purposes in these trial zones with Plod turning a blind eye whether on orders from above or exercising personal discretion.
The futures electric and personal freedoms a big thing, you can't stand in the way of progress, you might get run over.
No country for old men eh Mick.
Last edited by Passenger; 2nd January 2022 at 11:56.
Exactly so your point of them being insured is irrelevant.
Unfortunately there are scrotes out there who will drive away from a bump they have caused whether in a car or on a pushbike/motorbike/scooter, so your argument that the trial ones have insurance is irrelevant unless the person who caused the accident on the scooter stops and puts their hand up admitting liability.
It’s proving it though. That would be the difficult thing.
My car was parked outside my house one time. My wife in the bedroom heard a loud bump and looked out the bedroom window to see the guy who lived opposite had reversed into my car. We went outside to check and there was damage to the car. My mate was walking along the street toward my house and heard the bump (but didn’t actually see it) and saw the guy drive past him.
On inspection of his car he had a bump in the corresponding place. It went to court, and he STILL got away with it as no one actually saw the bump only heard it.
In some areas of what some might say 'deprivation', there have been unlicensed/untaxed/untested vehicles racing around the streets and grasslands for years like pitbikes, quads, stripped down motorbikes, scooters and cars. People in these (urban warfare) areas have got used to it.
Overpowered scooters and home-built unrestricted electric bicycles are the latest craze, freely available and seen everywhere even 'nice' rural areas, and people don't like it. We see them regularly in our quiet villages, often at night with no lights doing high speeds on road and footpath.
As said, there is probably no answer, particularly as there seems to be totally unrestricted importation from the far east. If they weren't available no one would be able to buy them.
Nah I was agreeing with you. I´ve got no beef with em either...we don´t seem to be plagued with em here in quite the same way...we see a few on the roads, not so much on the pavements... sometimes with-without helmets as I understand the law requires here...but tbh I think a few almost inevitable road traffic accidents might dissuade all but the most able, physically capable...they´re easier to pass than the bicyclists, who often travel in pairs or packs.
Last edited by Passenger; 2nd January 2022 at 12:56.
As someone else has pointed out (which you've conveniently ignored) they can be tracked, unlike an unidentified car.
Fact is trial ones ARE insured, you seem to be assuming all riders are scrotes who will not take responsibility for any incident (hopefully most will). Unlike cars where many are driven by your uninsured scrotes.
I haven’t ignored it at all. It’s proving it. What’s to stop someone in a car with a scratch on the wing clocking the plate on a scooter and then saying the scooter bumped his car on the way past.
But far more likely, these scooters are quite quick through stationary traffic and in the event of one scratching a car, the rider will be gone, long before the scooter can be identified.
And your argument swings both ways, just because someone owns a scooter as opposed to hiring one, it doesn’t mean they wouldn’t stop in the event of an accident.
Bottom line, you will get decent people and dicks riding both the personal and hired ones.
Wow, judgemental much. So you guys ARE saying that someone who rides a personal scooter is a scrote.
My wife once clipped the bumper of a car in a supermarket car park. She immediately phoned me to tell me. I told her to go to customer services with the reg of the car and ask to put a call out for the owner.
I paid for the damage to his car out of my own pocket. I didn’t bother with insurance as the cost of repair was way below my excess and the guy took it to a place of his choosing.
I’m sure there are many, many other people out there who would have done the same.
Same could well apply for a scooter rider.
No, I’m saying they are a scrote if they bump someone’s car and just carry on. I couldn’t care less if someone is on a personal scooter as long as they are riding the thing responsibly.
You have completely twisted my point just to try and win your argument.
You can have a decent person on a private scooter. If you wish to judge them because technically it’s illegal, crack on, but by that same token you would also need to judge people who drive at 31mph in a 30 too as that’s also illegal.
Haven't twisted anything - you think it's okay to break the law as long as it's done responsibly? Somehow doubt that's an admissible defence.
It's not 'technically' illegal, it's just plain illegal, end of. Like many other things - shoplifting, robbery, fraud, speeding even.
Cracking on, no need for me to judge speeding drivers or any other law breaking, I'll leave that for the authorities to decide.
Grow up and stop being a tw@t. It’s riding a scooter, if the government are happy with the trials it will become legal. Shoplifting, fraud and robbery never will and rightly so.
You are being argumentative just for the sake of being argumentative. It’s what you always do on here.
If they’re that bad why are they being trialled in places such as Bath where you can jump on and off at will? Sorry it may have already been discussed.
I suppose because they are not bad per se, and the current trials are more about what happens when people use them: does it have an impact on car use, or are they used by people who would cycle, walk or use public transport? What are the risks in real life for pedestrians and for users, so that insurances can work out their premiums? Etc.
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
I was looking at costs the other day and it’s quite ridiculous, there’s a 99p unlock fee and then 14p per minute thereafter. I can see all that’s going to do is encourage an idiot to use it as a laugh for 10 minutes. Who in their right mind would hire one around Bath in particular for an hour which would cost them nearly £9?
im in an area where the local clowncil has these on trial or contract (apparently its ok for them to use them but noone else ~) - you see them dumped/left all over the place - a petrol powered vehicle must be emplyed to go round picking them up and taking them back to a charging point - which is another thing that makes them a joke.
I think the genie is out of the bottle I’m afraid, and prohibition never seems to work with such things.
I worked with the CAA a few years ago to try and do something about high powered laser pens being shone at aircraft. The high powered ones were already banned, but they were being imported anyway just with false labels. Trading standards were doing what they could, but just one box getting through and for sale on the market the following Saturday is all it needs.
I ordered a 750w e-bike kit to make a mini electric quad for use on my own land, when it arrived it was badged up as a 250w street legal kit.
What's wrong with walking for an hour around Bath or indeed elsewhere, rhetorical obviously, but I reckon you get my drift.
Aren't these things glorified toys, mostly made in China, possibly by mistreated workers, maybe Uighers! Ban 'em get more folks on bicycles or non powered scooters or skateboards for the nostalgics and big kids, isn't there an obesity crisis to be addressed...or simply walk places like we used to do, we are designed for it.
The twenty somethings are not clamering to own a car as older people did. They would rather save the money spent on buying a depreciating asset that cost a lot of money to park, maintain. They would rather use on taxis or scooters on an as required basis instead. Scooters costing £9 for an hour will serve them well and are much better for the environment than cars, even electric ones.
Scooters are a better bet than someone young driving a gas guzzling heap of metal like a Landrover with all its accompanying costs.
I dare say when they become older and have children, they will then ditch the scooter and will block and pollute the road like the rest of us.
Interestingly roughly half of 20 somethings have a 1000 gbp or less in savings, whilst the average age of first time Mum's has reached almost 29.
Clamouring btw.
Last edited by Passenger; 4th January 2022 at 11:14.
There’s one good reason why anyone over the age of 12 shouldn’t ride an e scooter........you look like a complete pillock on these things! Grown man on a bloody scooter, it just looks so wrong. Not quite as bad as those Segway things but bad enough.
Yeh, I just don’t see the need why you would need to use a scooter around Bath, the wife and I go to shop and eat out at least once a month there, all of the shops and site are all within easy walking distance, not only that the scooter would be intermingled with all the walkers. As I said regardless of whether you have a car or not I don’t see why you’d need to spend £9.00 to scoot around Bath. I can however easily see a bunch of pizzed up idiots on the lash for a stag would make a beeline for them.
Mick, if you're riding around on a bloody scooter at your age you look like a pillock, end of.
If that doesn`t bother you that's fine, but using your legs would do you far more good!