Derbyshire police issue e-scooter warning after crash

Police have said they will seize e-scooters from irresponsible owners following another crash in Derby.

Officers issued the warning after a scooter "travelling at speed" was in collision with a vehicle in Crayford Road, Alvaston on Saturday.

It is the latest in a series of crashes involving scooters in the city.

Campaigner Sarah Gayton, from the UK's National Federation of the Blind, said the message from police was "not good enough" and more needed to be done.

A trial of publicly-available e-scooters, managed by the city council, is ongoing in Derby. Those yellow scooters are lawful, but privately owned e-scooters remain illegal to use on public roads.

'Complete disregard'

Police said the scooter involved in the crash was being ridden illegally.

Officers said the rider involved was reported for summons for offences including driving without third party insurance, driving otherwise in accordance with a licence and failing to stop at the scene of a road traffic collision following a road traffic collision.

It is not known whether anyone was injured, said the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The Alvaston and Boulton Safer Neighbourhood Team said: "Whilst we may not be able to stop and seize all e-scooters that ride past officers on patrol, rest assured that if you are riding an e-scooter on a public road, cycle path, bridleway or pavement and are involved in an RTC or anti-social behaviour, your scooter will be seized and we will continue to prosecute those that show a complete disregard towards the safety of others."

Ms Gayton has filed a report to the government calling on all UK e-scooter trials to be stopped

In February, two teenagers suffered minor injuries when their e-scooter collided with a car in Chaddesden, while in March a dog walker was hurt by an unidentified rider on Normanton Park.

In 2021, a six-year-old broke her leg after a collision with a rider on Harvey Road.

Campaigner Ms Gayton said the warnings from police do not go far enough.

"No matter if they are on a road, pavement or public path, e-scooters are still a hazard - even if they are going at low speed," she said.

"Police here are saying they will take action or prosecute if an accident happens - that is not good enough. They need to be much more proactive."