luckysitsinback (@luckysitsinback.bsky.social)

Amazon and Argos among retailers selling e-scooters for 'commuting' despite risk of death Major British retailers are under fire for selling e-scooters marketed for "commuting," despite warnings from police and coroners that their public use is illegal and poses a serious risk of injury or death. Brands including Currys, Argos, Halfords, and online giant Amazon have used promotional language like "urban riding" and "long-distance commutes" to sell these electric vehicles. However, current law strictly bans privately-owned e-scooters and hoverboards from public spaces, including roads, cycle lanes, and pavements, permitting their legal use only on private land. This marketing push comes as government figures indicate a significant proliferation, with up to 950,000 e-scooters now believed to be privately owned across England alone. In 2022, after a 14-year-old girl fell off her e-scooter and died under the wheels of a minibus, a coroner criticised retailers for selling the vehicles without proper warnings about the law, saying that without change there would be more deaths. In June, police forces across the country mounted a co-ordinated crackdown on illegal e-scooter use, and official data shows 10 people were killed and 1,484 injured in e-scooter collisions last year. Research by the Press Association has now revealed that retailers – from major brands to specialist e-scooter sellers – have... https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/escooters-amazon-argos-currys-commuting-b3006035.html