Coroner issues e-scooter safety warning after death of girl, 14

A coroner has issued a warning about e-scooter safety following the death of a 14-year-old girl.

East London senior coroner Graeme Irvine said fatalities from e-scooter crashes more than doubled after police changed policy to confiscate fewer of the devices.

He issued a report to Home Secretary Suella Braverman and Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley calling on them to take “action” to prevent future deaths.

An inquest into the death of Fatima Abukar, 14, on March 21 last year heard she was riding a privately owned e-scooter on the pavement of Green Street, East Ham before entering the carriageway.

She travelled alongside a minibus and then collided with it, falling beneath its wheels.

She died due to suffering “catastrophic head injuries”, Mr Irvine wrote.

The coroner noted she was not wearing “any safety equipment”.

In his report, Mr Irvine wrote: “Since 2019 here have been eight recorded fatalities involving e-scooters in London and 31 in the country at large.

“At the time of her death Ms Abukar was riding a privately owned e-scooter on a public highway.

“Despite the ubiquity of such devices on London’s streets, riding them on public roads is unlawful.

“Whereas approximately 4,000 unlawfully used scooters were seized by the Metropolitan Police Service in 2021, only 1,100 were confiscated in 2022.

“The reduction is attributable to a change in policy introduced in November 2021.

“An inverse correlation exists between the rate of legal enforcement and the rate of deaths caused by e-scooters.”

He added that the number of deaths in the first half of 2022 was “more than double” the figure for the same period last year.

Private e-scooters are banned in the UK but are often used on public roads and pavements.

Mr Irvine noted that not all e-scooter manufacturers and retailers provide consumers with written warnings about illegal use.

“Where such warnings are present, often they are not prominent,” he added.

The coroner sent his report to major retailers.

Legal trials of rental e-scooters on roads in dozens of towns and cities across England have been extended until May 2024.