As the UK embraces e-bikes and e-scooters for commuting, associated risks are increasing. Despite being a greener and more affordable transport option, rising accident rates pose serious, life-altering consequences.
The 2024 Statistics: An Upward Trend in Danger
The latest figures for 2024 highlight a concerning increase in incidents across the UK. Understanding these numbers is the first step toward better road safety:
- Rising Collisions: There were 1,312 collisions involving e-scooters in 2024, an increase from 1,292 the previous year.
- Solo Accidents: A significant portion of these (306 incidents) were “single-vehicle collisions,” where no other vehicle was involved—often due to rider error or poor road surfaces.
- Severity of Injury: While total casualties remained steady at 1,390, serious injuries rose to 444, suggesting that when accidents do happen, they are becoming more severe.
- Fatalities: Sadly, 6 people lost their lives in e-scooter incidents in 2024. Since 2019, the UK has seen a total of 43 e-scooter-related deaths, many involving devastating head and chest injuries.
Why Are These Accidents Happening?
The danger isn’t just on the road; it’s also in the home. Beyond traffic accidents, “battery fires” caused by faulty lithium batteries or incompatible conversion kits have become one of London’s fastest-growing fire trends.
On the road, the primary risks include:
- Visibility Issues: E-scooters and e-bikes are quiet and small, making them easy for motorists to miss at junctions or during lane changes.
- Infrastructure Hazards: Potholes and uneven pavement that a car might ignore can be catastrophic for the small wheels of an e-scooter.
- The Inexperience Factor: Many riders use rental schemes in unfamiliar cities, leading to distractions or a lack of control in heavy traffic.
Sensible Safety Recommendations
Adhering to sensible safety recommendations can significantly reduce the risk of e-scooter and e-bike accidents.
For Riders
- Gear Up: Always wear a helmet and protective/high-vis clothing.
- Stay Bright: Use lights in low-visibility conditions.
- Follow Rules: Respect speed limits and avoid pedestrian zones.
- Maintain: Regularly service your bike or scooter.
For Drivers & Pedestrians
- Stay Alert: Be mindful of riders nearby.
- Look Twice: Check mirrors and blind spots before turning or merging.
- Don’t Just Listen: E-vehicles are quiet; look both ways before crossing.
Immediate Actions to Take After an Accident
If you are involved in an incident, the steps you take in the first few minutes are vital for your health and any future legal claim:
- Seek Medical Attention: Some injuries, particularly internal ones, don’t show symptoms immediately.
- Document the Scene: Take photos of the vehicle, the road conditions (like potholes), and any visible injuries.
- Gather Witnesses: Independent accounts are often the “make or break” factor in a claim.
- Secure CCTV: Footage is often deleted quickly; contact local businesses or councils immediately to preserve it.
- Report to Police: An official report provides a neutral record of the event.
Our best estimate, after adjusting for changes in reporting by police, is that there were 444 seriously injured and 940 slightly injured casualties in collisions involving e-scooters. This compares to 415 and 966, respectively, in 2023.
Your Rights: Pursuing a Claim
If you or a loved one has been injured as a pedestrian, cyclist, or e-scooter rider, the law is designed to protect “vulnerable road users.” Motorists owe a high duty of care to those with less protection.
Common scenarios for claims include:
- Public Highway Defects: Tripping or crashing due to “actionable defects” like deep potholes or broken kerbs.
- Motorist Negligence: Drivers failing to check blind spots or abide by Highway Code Rules 211-213, which mandate giving cyclists and riders plenty of space.
- Occupiers’ Liability: Accidents occurring on private land or premises that were not maintained safely.
While wearing a helmet can reduce serious head injuries by up to 70%, failing to wear one does not currently legally qualify as “contributory negligence” in the UK. However, it is always strongly recommended for your safety.
Whilst wearing a helmet will not affect your claim as yet, it is likely that if you were not wearing a seatbelt as an occupant in a car, the value of your claim will be reduced up to 25%.
Frequently asked questions:
What are public highway accidents?
Accidents arising from trips, slips, and falls on roads or streets are quite common. Every year, thousands of people make a claim after being injured in a public place. Most claims are due to broken or uneven pavements, kerbs, or potholes on the roads and pathways.
You must be able to prove that the person responsible for maintaining the land/area was negligent in their duty. For example, you may have to demonstrate that an organisation failed to maintain a public pavement and allowed it to fall into such a state of disrepair that it caused an avoidable accident, resulting in you sustaining injuries.
You would have to prove that the defect which caused your accident was an ‘actionable defect.’ What is actionable depends on where the defect is and the local authority’s guidelines, and you would need photographs of the defect with measurements. This is important as the area may be repaired shortly after your accident.
I’ve had a road traffic accident whilst riding my bike. Am I entitled to claim?
Cyclists are entitled to claim for personal injury in the event of an accident. On the whole, cyclists tend to assume the position of claimant in personal injury claims due to increased vulnerability when compared to motorists and motorcyclists.
Although cyclists share the same rights to claim as other road users, cyclists also share a duty of care to other vehicles and pedestrians.
I was hit whilst crossing the road. Do I have a claim?
Fast-moving vehicles, whether it be a car, van or lorry, could be seen as a dangerous weapon. So, the duty of care often falls more heavily on the vehicle driver than it does on the pedestrian for the obvious reason that metal is harder than skin. So, it is likely that if you were hit by a car, you have a personal injury claim.
Whilst in some situations, liability can be apportioned on a split liability basis, it can often be more favourable to the injured pedestrian. However, this does not warrant carelessness by the pedestrian, and there is still an expectation that pedestrians adhere to the Highway Code:
- Pavements should be used by pedestrians if provided.
- If there is no pavement, stick to the right-hand side of the road to be wary of oncoming vehicles.
- Wear lightly coloured bright or fluorescent clothing in poor daylight conditions.
- Where there are barriers, use the gaps provided – do not climb over them.
- If you have to cross between two vehicles, treat the outside of the vehicles as the kerb.
With some pedestrian claims, can they settle where both parties take a share of the blame?
A driver’s duty of care is regarded as higher than a pedestrian. Often, even where the pedestrian is at fault, the driver and pedestrian take a portion of the blame each, otherwise known as a ‘Split Liability.’
The proportion to which the liability is shared ranges drastically from case to case and is dependent on the facts and can be split anywhere from 90/10 to 50/50.
- Clothing: A pedestrian’s clothing should be bright/fluorescent at night time or on days where visibility is affected (such as foggy conditions).
- Age: The pedestrian’s age is also important. For example, it may take significantly longer for an old person to cross than it would for a young person. It is expected that road users are sensitive to this and do not set off as soon as the lights go green – they must wait for the pedestrian to safely cross.
Equally, young children (who are often careless when crossing roads through lack of experience) should be treated with similar care by drivers. If they can see young children near the road, drivers should be wary and reduce their speed to compensate for potential youthful recklessness.
- Vulnerability: A key aspect of an accident. You can imagine it would take someone in a wheelchair, or with walking difficulties, longer than an able-bodied pedestrian to cross. This sensitivity is an expectation of road users.
- Location: Drivers are expected to be particularly wary around school areas, as there is a high influx of children either leaving or arriving at school, resulting in a high risk of incidents due to occasional youthful obliviousness to danger.
Why Choose Oakwood Solicitors?
Pedestrians and cyclists are vulnerable road users who often face life-changing injuries from high-speed impacts. Since 2001, Oakwood Solicitors has been a dedicated advocate for victims of road traffic accidents.
We understand that an e-bike or e-scooter injury isn’t just a legal case; it’s a disruption to your life, your finances, and your wellbeing.
When you instruct us, you can expect a friendly, down-to-earth approach, together with an extensive knowledge of the field, which will be used to fight tenaciously with the insurers to achieve the maximum level of compensation possible for you.
We operate on a No-Win, No-Fee basis, ensuring you can seek justice without financial risk. Our experienced team fights tenaciously to secure the maximum compensation for medical bills, lost wages, and rehabilitation.
Further information:
Accidents in Public Places.
Pedestrian and Cyclist Claims.
What to do After an E-Scooter or E-Bike Accident: Injury Claims Explained.
GOV.UK Accredited official statistics: Reported Road casualties Great Britain: e-Scooter factsheet 2024.
WHAT TO DO NEXT:
Contact Oakwood Solicitors Ltd and provide us with some basic details about the accident, your injuries, and details of your financial losses. We will then be able to tell you if you have a viable claim.
Get in touch today, choose one of the methods on the right-hand side of this page or call us on 0113 360 1467 to find out how we can help you.
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Rob Crompton joined Oakwood Solicitors in July 2007 as a Road Traffic Accident Paralegal Fee Earner. Rob has progressed through the organisation and holds the current position of Head of Personal Inj…
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