World’s first city votes 90% to ban hated e-scooters and calls for them to be banned from UK streets

PARIS tonight became the first city in the world to ban self-rental e-scooters, while Britain watches closely amid growing hatred of the machines.

The vehicles were pushed off the streets of the French capital by a majority of 90 percent, bringing the tense e-scooter debate even closer.

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Paris’ decision comes after years of fury over the danger e-scooters pose on the roads, particularly after the 2019 death of a driver who was hit by a van.

This helped fuel the city’s widespread opposition to the machines and eventual their downfall in one of the largest e-scooter markets in the world.

Nevertheless, calls to take tough action against battery-powered machines are increasing all over Europe.

It has been claimed for years that e-scooters are terrorizing the streets of Britain’s cities, particularly in London, where over 4,200 are available for hire across the capital and millions of trips have been made to date.

Urban e-scooter rental schemes have been rapidly and aggressively rolled out across the UK since 2020, accompanied by a boom in private sales.

As a cheap, fast and eco-friendly alternative to travel, the e-scooter revolution was quickly taking shape.

In 2020, a law came into force to enable rental e-scooter trials.

The rules so far are that you can’t use one on a public road and on a bike path unless you rent one from a state-approved system.

If you have a private scooter, you can only ride it on private land – a law regularly, but perhaps unknowingly, broken across the country.

However, the rules could change.

On June 22, 2022, it was announced that the government was continuing to address the issue of regulation and would publish its evaluation of the e-scooter trials in due course.

Arguments against the battery-powered machines are getting louder, especially about speeding and careless drivers when driving in places where they are not allowed.

According to the latest figures from the Department of Transport, in the year to the end of June 2022 there were 1,349 registered collisions and 1,437 victims involving e-scooters.

A poll by Electroheads last year found that most people want some sort of punishment for anti-social electric scooter driving – but points on their driver’s license were the least popular option.

However, 26.5 percent of the 1,508 respondents wanted unsocial e-scooter driving to be subject to an immediate fine.

The electric scooters are also not popular with law enforcement agencies.

As early as 2019, the police threatened to take them away from their users. In 2021, police again issued warnings about risky and dangerous use of the machines.

Police data from 2021 also showed thieves across the country using e-scooters in crimes, including as getaway vehicles.

In 2022, to crack down on the misused machines, police began prosecuting commuters who put them on public transport.

Transport for London had banned e-scooters a year earlier, but police pushed ahead with fines over safety concerns that they could catch fire.

Last Christmas it was noticed that many dealers were selling e-scooters even though they were banned from public places and streets.

“It is irresponsible for retailers to sell these e-scooters which they know cannot be used on public roads,” West Midlands Deputy Police and Crime Inspector Tom McNeil told The Guardian.

“A lot of people are confused about the rules. I’ve been with cops and I’ve seen people being pulled over on private e-scooters and they didn’t seem to have any idea they weren’t allowed to ride them.”

McNeil has called for a ban on electric machines until the government gets a proper handle on their use.

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