Danger to life with e-scooter: UK calls for stricter rules

Several fatal incidents involving e-scooter and e-bikes occurred in the UK in 2023. As a result, voices are being raised calling for stricter rules.

E-scooter battery as a safety problem

There were a total of eleven deaths in connection with e-scooters and e-bikes in the UK in 2023. It was not just traffic accidents that led to death. Rather, there were defective batteries that resulted in serious fires. The aim now is to crack down on this problem. Yvonne Fovargue, Labour Party, even goes so far as to equate having an e-scooter in your home “as if you had an unexploded bomb in your house”. In addition to the Member of the British Parliament, many others are now calling for much stricter rules. According to a report in The Guardian, the UK may want to introduce independent certification.

Once again, the focus is on e-scooter batteries. As these are usually located and charged in hallways, it is usually impossible to escape in the event of a fire. After all, the source of the fire is directly in the way of those fleeing. According to the government’s Office for Product and Safety Standards, a total of eleven people lost their lives in such scenarios in 2023. The London Fire Brigade adds to the threat situation with further figures. A total of 149 fires are said to have occurred in the capital in 2023 due to batteries. If you consider that there were just 87 in the previous year, the problem becomes clear.

Batteries on the test bench

One of the main problems seems to be that many users of e-scooter or even e-bikes make changes to the models or have them made. The corresponding safety certificates are then of course no longer valid. However, even models available on the open market can be inherently risky. Batteries from UPP are affected, for example. The Chinese manufacturer’s models are said to have been used in some e-scooters and e-bikes that were involved in fires.

The timing speaks for itself. It is possible that the first batteries have recently lost their longevity and are being replaced by new models. If there is a production error or negligence during installation, the risk is of course great. In Germany, however, the everyday use of e-scooters is also being debated. For example, e-scooters have recently been banned from public transport in some major cities in North Rhine-Westphalia. There are simply fire safety concerns.