Hundreds of e-scooter and e-bike injuries reported

Tier runs an e-bike and e-scooter rental service in four areas of Essex

More than 230 crashes involving electric scooters and bikes in Essex have resulted in an injury in the past five years, a Freedom of Information request has revealed.

But the figures, first reported by the Daily Gazette, show road traffic collisions involving e-scooters and e-bikes fell in the past year.

Essex Police recorded 39 incidents resulting in an injury in the 12 months to July this year, down from 75 in same period last year.

Tier, which runs shared e-scooter and e-bike services in four Essex towns and cities, said its rate of incidents was less than one per 10,000 trips.

A spokesperson for Essex Police said: "They [e-scooters] are not a toy and we need people to understand the legal implications of using one on a road or pavement.

"Where there is use of privately owned e-scooters in public areas, or evidence of other offences, we will take appropriate enforcement action. This includes e-scooter seizures and riders being reported for driving offences."

Electric bike engineer Gary Kerr, from Felsted, said reports of battery fires had negatively impacted sales of e-bikes, which could be why the number of injuries was falling.

"Only a small number of e-bikes have set fire and the ones that have are usually not from a reputable manufacturer," he explained.

Mr Kerr said he had seen many riders "derestrict" their bikes so they go faster than the legal speed limit of 15.5mph (24.9km/h).

'Safety is top priority'

Colchester Cycling Campaign chairman Stuart Johnson said he had noticed more motorists giving cyclists a big enough gap when overtaking.

A trial e-scooter and e-bike rental scheme is running in the city, as well as in Basildon, Braintree, and Chelmsford.

Jessica Murphy, head of public policy at Tier, said the company's scooters were limited to 12.5mph (20km/h) and that safety was its "top priority".

"We also work closely with the police to tackle anti-social riding behaviours like drink riding, pavement riding and tandem riding," she said.