Voi Scooter ride UK LEGAL Escooter

I have been visiting my wife in hospital every day for a long time now. Last weekend my eldest daughter hit a deer as it ran across the road in front of her car at 70mph. She is fine but her car was a mess so I lent her mine to get to work. As I am only doing local journeys I decided to use the escooter rental service that is on trial in Northampton. Electric scooters are a thing these days being ridden by the youth as well as others using them for fun as well as commuting.

The trial contract has been awarded to Voi, a Swedish company and they are the only legal way to use an escooter in the UK. UK law means private escooters run the risk of being confiscated by the police as escooters are illegal in the UK except on private land. You need a valid Provisional or full UK driving licence to ride them and by definition that means you are at least 16 years old. You are only meant to ride on the road and follow all traffic laws. What are my own views on these things? Well, 15mph is a touch too slow but that limit was introduced after too many people were racing down the pavement (sidewalk). Not the smoothest ride, the wheels I think are made from concrete and you feel every ridge in the road surface. The steering is twitchy as heck, needing very little input to sling you in a totally different direction. The brakes work very well, having both front and rear brakes means you can stop very quickly if you need to.

Ok, as a nearly 60 year old (yes, really!) do I like the idea of electric scooters? As an idea, yes I think its great. In practice however I don't think they suit the roads in the UK. Too slow, expensive if you don't buy a monthly pass, dangerous because other drivers don't see them as a valid motor vehicle and too easily abused. For them to be better they would need to have bigger wheels, higher speed limit and the roads to all be resurfaced to a nice smooth finish instead of the rough random surfaces full of holes, cracks , loose stones and slippery manhole covers.

Видео Voi Scooter ride UK LEGAL Escooter канала George Christofi