Exact date when e-scooters could become LEGAL

PRIVATE e-scooters could soon be legalized on the road as Grant Shapps hinted the £300 fine could soon be removed.

Transport minister said he wanted to ‘regulate properly’ private e-scooters – which is currently not available for public use.

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E-scooters can only be used on England’s roads if they are part of rental trials which include safety features such as 15.5mph top speeds and automatic lights.

Those that are privately owned are restricted by law for use on private land – but are often seen flitting around cities and towns.

Despite hundreds of accidents and 11 deaths as a result of illegal use, Mr Shapps has hinted that private e-scooters could soon be given the public green light.

The Cabinet minister said the legislation would be included in the Queen’s speech on May 10.

Mr Shapps told the Commons Transport Select Committee that “I want to take action against the illegal use of non-compliant e-scooters on roads in the future”.

Committee member Simon Jupp said there were “900 collisions, 11 of which were fatal.”

He expressed concern that Mr Shapps’ comments suggest the Department for Transport (DfT) is considering allowing private e-scooters on roads as long as they meet similar safety specifications to those in the trials.

Mr Shapps replied: “We will take the powers to regulate them properly and then be able to decide how they are to be used.

“They are a reality, they exist.

“If these things exist, they need to be made secure, and I think the trials have been useful in gathering data, and there’s more data to gather.”

Another committee member, Ben Bradshaw, described e-scooters as a “convenient, cheap and environmentally friendly mode of transport” when he asked Mr Shapps when the DfT would “get moving and properly license these things”.

In response, Mr Shapps said: “I will announce it on May 10.”

After the meeting, AA President Edmund King said: “The Government is right to address this issue and introduce regulations rather than allowing some of our towns to be overrun with illegal scooters like the Wild West.

“Micromobility and e-technology can have a positive impact on mobility in our cities, but we must ensure that mobility is safe.”

‘DEATHTRAPS’

Private e-scooters are becoming increasingly popular – but drivers face a £300 fine and six points on their license if they use them on public roads or pavements.

Electric scooters are growing in popularity as manufacturers boast they can ‘roll freely on the road’ – but drivers face a £300 fine and six points on their license if they use them on public roads or pavements .

Nevertheless, it is assumed that around 750,000 private e-scooters are driven nationwide.

They were previously branded “death traps” by a Met police chief after falls rose 700 percent.

Just last month, a schoolgirl reportedly became the youngest e-scooter rider to be killed in the UK after a van crash in London.

Nine e-scooter riders died in accidents last year, a December report found.

Meanwhile, a conservative politician Cyclists and e-scooter drivers demanded a mobile phone ban while zipping around.

Pickering’s Baroness McIntosh wants the law changed immediately so both groups are prosecuted in the same way as motorists.

She lashed out at users on two wheels who used cellphones “inappropriately” and accused e-scooter riders of “absolutely terrorizing” Brits.