E-scooter academies should be created to train riders to use them safely, says Sheffield campaigner

Gordon Riley, head of e-scooter startup Electric England, will present a petition to full council next week.

He is urging local councils to support e-scooter training academies run by professionals on private or council owned land.

Britain has seen a surge in the popularity of e-scooters – but there has also been a surge in the number of ambulance call-outs for accidents.

There was a five-fold increase in accidents in Yorkshire alone last year. There were 51 e-scooter accidents recorded by the Yorkshire Ambulance Service in 2021, a huge increase from the nine accidents recorded in 2019.

Nationwide, 931 injuries were reported, prompting the Government to call for a blanket ban. More than 3,600 e-scooters have been seized in London.

E-scooters must only be ridden on private land with permission

E-scooters are illegal on public land and offenders can be fined or receive points on their driving licence. It’s against the law to ride on pavements and cycle lanes or in parks and car parks.

But Gordon says people will continue to use them and it’s better to educate and train riders to avoid accidents.

He wants riding academies to open, the first ever project of its kind in the UK which would start in Sheffield and be replicated throughout the country.

Riders would be trained in how to maintain an electric scooter, awareness of surroundings, the law, speed, safety and etiquette; practical riding lessons; and could become ambassadors to spread awareness in schools.

Gordon said: “E-scooter school graduates will be vastly safer, more responsible, educated riders who will go on to be ambassadors for the use of non-fossil fuel burning modes of transport.

“For this to happen, we need council support. Success at this stage will enable us to develop further with a country wide network, helping to create safer and more eco friendly communities in line with what many European cities have achieved already.”

Twenty people have signed the petition