Some data from Admiral on e-scooter accidents, which is worth factoring into the general risk tables underpinning cover for hire scooters. Although many accidents involve non-legal e-scooter use, the government will probably cave in at some point in the future and legalise ALL e-scooter road use, at least for the over 16s. So data like this is worth extrapolating and modelling on a larger scale. As a society, we have to agree what level of fatality and serious injury is worth accepting, in order to tick a nominal `green’ transport box.
Claims data from Admiral reveals the number of incidents reported involving e-scooters more than doubled between 2020 and 2021. The insurer also saw a ten-fold increase in e-scooter incidents compared with 2019. According to new research one in five drivers say they have been involved in an accident or near miss with an e-scooter. Now Admiral Car Insurance is urging drivers to be vigilant during darker winter days to ensure both drivers and riders remain safe on the roads.
IE Note: In data published in 2021, a UK Government report said there were 253 serious injuries and three fatalities, as a result of e-scooter accidents in one year. Within those stats, 37 pedestrians suffered serious injuries as a result of being hit by an e-scooter, which suggests that many are being ridden illegally on pavements.
According to data gained by the insurer from police forces across the UK, there have been over 490 accidents reported since 2019, and some forces report a 300% increase in the number of accidents involving an e-scooter from 2020 to 2021. The UK police forces also reported more than 1,500 e-scooter confiscations in 2021, an increase of 456% on the number of e-scooter confiscations in 2020. It’s worth noting that during lockdown the Police were instructed to crack down briefly on e-scooter usage and that situation will probably not return due to general demands on Police time and resources.
CLAIMS DATA
Admiral’s own claims data shows that 143 incidents involving e-scooters were registered in 2021, more than double the 65 reported in 2020.
While the numbers are still small, it suggests that accidents involving e-scooters continue to rise. Research from Admiral found that one in 10 households now own an e-scooter, but worryingly, the research also found that two thirds of Brits are unaware that the use of private e-scooters is still illegal on public roads.
“We’ve been monitoring how many incidents involving e-scooters our customers report to us.” says Admiral, “In 2019 there were just 13, in 2020 that jumped to 65 and last year it increased to 143. The vast majority of those thankfully didn’t result in a claim. While a ten-fold increase in accidents sounds significant, the numbers are still fairly small but the increase certainly reflects the fact that e-scooters have surged in popularity.
Attitudes towards e-scooters vary greatly with age, with people aged 65 and older (45%) far more likely to want e-scooters banned due to safety concerns, in comparison to just 8% of those aged 18- 34 and 17% of 35–44-year-olds said they want the same. The trials of e-scooters have clearly been more popular with younger audiences, with 80% of those aged 55 and older saying they would never try an e-scooter, compared to just over one third of people aged between 18-34 (37%) saying the same.”
OUR SURVEY SAID: MOST RIDERS SHOULD NOT CARRY INSURANCE
One in five people aged 18-34 believed that riders should have liability insurance to use an e-scooter on public roads, and this figure rises to almost half (45%) when answered by people over the age of 55. So the majority of people believe that e-scooter users should carry no third party liability insurance, which is astonishing.
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