A cyclist has been seriously injured in a crash with an e-scooter in Brighton, police said this afternoon (Friday 15 October).
Sussex Police said: “Police are appealing for witnesses following a collision between a bicycle and an e-scooter in Brighton.
“The incident happened at around 7.30am on Wednesday 13 October when the female cyclist was riding south in the bike lane of Lewes Road.
“A man heading in the opposite direction collided with her, causing both to fall to the ground.
“The e-scooter rider got up and continued his journey without any concern for the cyclist.
“The victim was taken to hospital by ambulance with serious injuries.
“Investigating officers are appealing for witnesses of the incident or anyone with dashcam footage to come forward.
“The suspect is described as 5ft 8in and was wearing a light grey baseball cap, a black jacket and jeans. He is believed to often travel on the road.
“Anyone who may be able to help is asked to email collision.appeal@sussex.pnn.police.uk, quoting serial 198 of 13/10.”
You couldn’t make it up.
Eco-loons ramming each other.
This raises a serious issue that government and our council really need to sort out a long term solution for.
The eScooter rider probably did a runner because it is illegal to use these motorised toys on roads or in cycle lanes. Because they are illegal, you can’t have insurance when using them.
We don’t know in this case who caused the accident but the cyclist is in the right in the sense that she was in the cycle lane. We do know that most cyclists – including me – won’t have accident insurance either.
I hope the lady here recovers fast, but a similar accident one day could result in life changing injuries or death.
eScooters and electric-assisted bikes can go as fast as 30mph, and yet are illegal or under-regulated, despite being increasingly popular. For some teens they are now must-have forms of transport.
The eScooter is also the fake-green gadget of choice for many commuting to work in our city and, whereas a bike often gets nicked when you lock it up outside, the scooter folds up to go under your desk or to be carried when going into a pub.
It’s inevitable that we’ll see a lot more accidents like this one.
Pedelecs are pedal assisted up to 15mph.
Electric bikes with 250Watt motors are in theory limited to a 15.5mph speed limit if purely under electric power, but most will go a lot faster if you pedal hard.
Some ebike models also have more powerful motors which are supposedly limited to 15mph for the European market and for UK rules, but you can often remove the limit on speed with some simple reprogramming.
28mph is quite common and higher speeds, over 30mph, are also regularly seen here.
It’s a bit weird when I’m on my leg-powered bike in the cycle lane, pedalling flat out, and some heavy bloke comes cruising past on a bike fitted with fat tyres – and he’s barely pedalling.
The lack of regulation at the selling points mean that all sorts of illegal electric forms of personal transport are now on our roads.
Start with the Hire Bicycles that are endorced by Brighton & Hove Council. Anybody with a credit card from anywhere in world with little or no road sense can go on Brighton and Hove public roads and pavements without any insurance. There are Commercial Insurance Companies that will insure these hire cycles and those who are making the money hiring them out should be made to provide this minimum requirement if they consider themselves regrettable traders.