E-bike injury payouts top £110m and push up insurance premiums
According to information obtained by the BBC, the cost of damages paid to people injured by e-scooters and e-bikes in the UK has exceeded £110 million.
It has been just seven years since the first application and the largest individual payout was £20 million. Such claims have also led to increased driver premiums to effectively foot the bill for insurance companies.
Alison, not her real name, suffered a broken pelvis, wrist and finger, as well as cuts and bruises, when she was hit by a private e-scooter while crossing the road in Coventry last year. He hopes to receive compensation for his injuries.
“It was a beautiful, sunny day so we were all in a really good mood,” he said. “The next thing I could think of was pebbles and I was on the ground.
“It was a momentary pain, you know, the TV making gray static? That’s what my eyes were doing.”
“I was at the crossing. I thought it was safe, but you don’t expect that.”
CCTV footage shows Trevor Chandler, 47, of Coventry, hitting her directly with his e-scooter before she and a friend crossed the road and left the scene a short time later.
Chandler broke his leg but escaped, eventually being arrested and sentenced to 15 months in prison. His vehicle was destroyed.
The Motor Insurers Bureau (MIB), the organization that resolves claims like Alison’s, wants the sale of such vehicles to be better regulated and, in some cases, banned.
Experts say that the cost of payments is a major contributor to the increase in annual premiums of ordinary members of the public.
They have become a common sight on the streets of the UK, but have also become a significant danger.
Micromobility vehicles, which include e-scooters, e-bikes, mobility scooters and now e-unicyles, have become a concern for people moving around town and city centres. All are legally classified as motor vehicles.
