The number of people injured in e-scooter collisions in the North East has risen significantly over the last two years across each police force area, new figures show.
The RAC Foundation said the rise in e-scooter injuries in the North East reveals "real life" frequent use of the vehicles is getting ahead of e-scooter trials and legislation, and it's putting pedestrians and those who ride e-scooters in danger.
Department for Transport figures and Police UK figures released show 26 casualties were recorded by police forces in Durham, Northumbria and Cleveland last year.
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It was up from 11 in 2021 and a significant increase from one casualty two years prior.
In the North East, the data shows Northumbria as the most dangerous for e-scooter injuries, with 21 last year, 10 in 2021 and one casualty in 2020.
Meanwhile, the two least dangerous are Durham which had one injury last year and zero injuries recorded for 2021 and 2020, and Cleveland had four in 2022, one casualty in 2021 and zero in 2020.
The North East follows the overall trend across the UK where there is an ever-rising number of e-scooter casualties.
Last year there was a total of 1,458 casualties involving e-scooters – up slightly from 1,434 in 2021 and a leap from 484 in 2020.
Private e-scooters cannot be legally ridden on roads or pavements in the UK but have become a common sight, particularly in urban areas.
Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said: "As the e-scooter trials rumble on these figures show that the vehicles are in frequent use – and apparently all-too-frequent collisions – across the whole country.
“Real life is very quickly getting ahead of legislation."
He added: "As ministers ponder the future of these devices it is important councils are better funded to keep highway surfaces up to scratch so all road users – not least those on two wheels – don’t fall foul of the rash of potholes which remain far too common."
The statistics also show there were 12 deaths as a result of e-scooter collisions.
“Of them, 11 were e-scooter users and one was a pedestrian.
Additionally, the figures reveal e-scooter users made up the majority of those severely or slightly injured with 1,106 hurt (76 per cent), while 233 pedestrians were injured (16 per cent).
The remainder were cyclists or occupants of other motor vehicles.
A Department for Transport spokesman said: "Safety is at the heart of our e-scooter trials and privately-owned e-scooters remain illegal to use on the road."
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He added that the department is committed to protecting all road users and is investing £5 billion from 2020 to 2025 to help local authorities maintain local roads, with an extra £200 million announced in the Budget.
"This will help them fix millions of potholes a year and resurface roads up and down the country, making journeys smoother and safer for everyone," he said.
The rules and regulations of e-scooters
Cleveland Police have on their website that: "E-scooters are classed as motor vehicles under the Road Traffic Act 1988. This means the rules that apply to motor vehicles, also apply to e-scooters including the need to have a licence, insurance and tax.
It's not currently possible to get insurance for privately owned e-scooters, which means it's illegal to use them on the road or in public spaces. If you're using a private e-scooter you risk the vehicle being seized under S.165 Road Traffic Act 1988 for no insurance.
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