E-scooter collision injuries increase by 90 per cent in the West Midlands

More people were injured in e-scooter collisions in the West Midlands since 2020, new figures show.

The RAC Foundation said the rise in e-scooter injuries across Great Britain reveals "real life" frequent use of the vehicles is getting ahead of e-scooter trials and legislation.

Department for Transport figures show 114 casualties were recorded by West Midlands Police last year. It was up from 67 in 2021 and a significant increase from 12 casualties two years prior - a rise of 41 per cent from 2021 and 90 per cent from 2020.

The figures have been released as an e-scooter for hire scheme returns to Birmingham in June. Transport for West Midlands had paused a previous scheme with Voi. The new e-scooter scheme will be with Beryl, which provides bikes for hire across Birmingham.

The Voi sceme faced criticism over safety after a serious incident last December saw the death of a 12 year-old boy afer an electric scooter he was riding crashed with a bus in Birmingham. At the end of February  a 165 year-old rider was left fighting for his life after crashing his e-scooter with a car near Stoney Lane in Balsall Heath.

West Midlands follows the overall trend across Great Britain 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. Trials of rental e-scooters on roads in dozens of towns and cities across England are ongoing.

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%), while 233 pedestrians were injured (16%). The remainder were cyclists, or occupants of other motor vehicles.

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: "Safety is at the heart of our e-scooter trials and privately-owned e-scooters remain illegal to use on the road."

They added 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," they said.