THAMES Valley Police has announced that it seized nearly 120 e-scooters and e-bikes in the last three months.
Between June 1 and September 8 this year, police in Thames Valley seized 118 e-scooters and e-bikes, with 21 of these seizures occurring since the beginning of September.
Police often receive complaints from the public about the misuse of these vehicles, often as riders drive carelessly and at excessive speed.
This causes risks to both the riders and to pedestrians, with two serious incidents taking place in Thames Valley in the last two weeks.
This includes and incident in Bracknell on September 1, where a boy in his teens swerved to avoid the opening door of a parked van and collided with a lamppost whilst riding his e-scooter, sustaining serious injuries.
There was also an incident in Milton Keynes on September 6, where a woman in her sixties sustained serious head injuries after she was struck by someone riding an e-scooter.
It is illegal to ride a privately owned electric scooter in public spaces, including on the road.
Those who are found to be riding privately owned e-scooters in public risk receiving a large fine, points on their driving licence and seizure of their e-scooter.
To be legal, an e-bike has to comply with legislation and the rider must be over the age of 14.
Community Policing Command Inspector Mike Darrah said: “Dangerous, illegal, and inappropriate use of both e-scooters and e-bikes poses serious risks in the community and is something the public continue to rightly raise to us as a concern.
“These stats highlight the progress we are making in dealing with this issue but as the incidents of the past couple of weeks in different areas of the force show, there is still a lot more work to do.
“Through both seizing vehicles that are being used illegally and continuing to educate people on the laws, preventing offences, our communities will be safer.”
More information about the legal use of e-bikes is available via: gov.uk/electric-bike-rules
