James May has, for the previous 12 months and a half, been breaking the legislation by driving his privately-owned electrical scooter on the highway, on footpaths and in cycle lanes, and in doing so appears like he’s “beating the system”.
Writing in The Sunday Times Magazine at the weekend, the host of The Grand Tour mentioned that he purchased his electrical scooter (a Xiaomi Mi Pro 2 from Halfords) on the strict understanding that it was to be used solely on privately owned land, but as a result of he didn’t have any of that and since driving it round the home annoys his accomplice, he’s been doing it on the public freeway anyway.
“But you would, wouldn’t you?” he mentioned. “Because it’s little more than an adjunct to walking, and very much, as has often been said of small urban buses, hop on, hop off. It feels like beating the system and it is, because it’s a powered vehicle and therefore should be registered.”
May believes making an attempt to police the use of e-scooters is futile (“you may as well legislate against people trying to say words when burping” and identified that the authorities is getting on-board, with trials of rental scooters and with laws modifications that will quickly make it attainable to journey personal e-scooters on the highway.
At current in the UK, an electrical scooter can solely be used on the public highway (but not a footpath or motorway) if it’s employed from an permitted firm reminiscent of Lime, Spin, Voi, Wind or Bird, and lined by the firm’s insurance coverage.
Flagrant criminality however, May enjoys e-scootering, claiming it’s one thing akin to utilizing considered one of the futuristic innovations — reminiscent of hover boots — the public was promised again in the seventies.
“The electric scooter is one of the things — along with the iPad, streaming TV and internet porn — that I’d like to gather up from my adult life and take with me back to my teenage years,” he mentioned.
Referring to the pc pioneer whose 1985 electrified C5 tricycle was as soon as hailed as a revolution in private urban transport solely to quickly develop into a by-word for company flop, May mentioned: “I’d show it to Sir Clive Sinclair, to reassure him that his vision of simple electric urban mobility was spot on, and that he’d just got the vehicle wrong,”
![History of electric cars - sinclair c5](https://www.driving.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/10/sinclair-c51.jpg?w=1024)
He admits, nevertheless, that, like the C5, his e-scooter is not fairly as sensible or drawback-free as the seamless expertise would possibly lead onlookers to imagine. Riding it, May mentioned, feels precarious.
“The wheels are very small and some of the holes are quite big. There’s no front brake, only a bit of regeneration from the motor mounted in the front wheel, and the cable-operated rear disc is snatchy. The wheelbase is obviously short and those with an understanding of motorcycle geometry will recognise from the picture that there’s a bit of rake but no trail worth talking of, so steering does not feel as natural as it does on a bike. A ‘get-off’ always feels imminent.”
One such “get-off” occurred for May one night after a go to to his fellow Grand Tour host, Richard Hammond.
“At some point I met a ridge or kerb that my Brompton [folding bicycle] would have handled easily, going at a fair lick, and for several yards I continued the journey sans scooter and relying entirely on one of Monty Python’s silly walks, with added jazz hands. I was lucky not to knock myself out on a tree.”
May isn’t alone both — in 2021 the Metropolitan Police reported 510 casualties involving e-scooters in London with 9 deaths in England, Scotland and Wales final 12 months.
![Transport Committee launches e-scooter enquiry](https://www.driving.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2020/04/e-scooters.png?w=1024)
Added to its lack of stability is a normal lack of practicality, which limits its use considerably and is considered one of the explanation why May believes {that a} rental, somewhat than possession, mannequin works finest.
“A backpack full of groceries doesn’t help stability, and it’s difficult to secure when parked. It folds flat, but it’s a bit too heavy to carry around the shop with you at 14kg — the weight of a kitted-out hybrid city bike. This is why the rental idea works so well. You swipe your card, hop on, scoot to your next tourist attraction or whatever, hop off and it’s immediately someone else’s problem.”
May does concede, nevertheless, that few are claiming the electrical scooter to be a real revolution in urban journey and that basically “they’re a bit of a laugh and yet another obvious application of the recent advances in battery and motor tech. This is fun, first and foremost, with usefulness as a bonus.” Even dwelling in London, he mentioned, he makes use of his so much lower than he anticipated.
![James May: spend the HS2 money on bikes](https://www.driving.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2020/05/Bike.jpg?w=1024)
For on a regular basis use, he mentioned, the bicycle represents a greater wager for urban use.
“Ah, the bicycle. Did I ever mention that it was a brilliant invention? It still is — and it’s making more sense than ever.”