E-scooters blamed for rise in children caught using a vehicle without insurance

Electric scooters have been blamed for a surge in the number of children caught using a vehicle without insurance.

Charity IAM RoadSmart, which made the claim, urged the Government to introduce new legislation on the devices.

It obtained DVLA figures showing 375 children aged between 13 and 16 were issued with an IN10 endorsement – the offence code for using an uninsured vehicle – last year.

The figure compares with just 17 in 2021.

IAM RoadSmart director of policy and standards Nicholas Lyes said: “The number of children caught driving or riding without insurance is shocking and is likely to be down to the those riding e-scooters.

“Although it’s illegal to ride a privately-owned e-scooter on public roads, they are widely available for sale.

“It’s estimated that more than 750,000 private e-scooters have been bought.

“The Government needs to urgently bring forward legislation on private e-scooters, which must include minimum-type approval device standards, speed limiters and proposals for riders to have a minimum level of competency.”

Insurance is not available for privately-owned e-scooters, which cannot be legally ridden on roads or pavements in the UK but have become a common sight, particularly in urban areas.

Separate Department for Transport (DfT) figures show six people were killed and 416 were seriously injured in crashes in Britain involving at least one e-scooter in 2023.

Trials of rental e-scooters on roads in England have been ongoing in towns and cities since July 2020.

IAM RoadSmart also found 7,234 IN10 endorsements were handed to people aged 17-21 last year. That was more than double the total of 3,340 in 2021.

Mr Lyes said: “For car drivers aged 17-24, uninsured driving is likely to be a result of cost pressure.

“Young people pay the largest insurance premiums of all and rely on vehicles for independence and work opportunities.

“While there may be some light at the end of the tunnel with premiums starting to fall, cost will remain a barrier and some may continue to break the law unless we see significant change.

“There are levers the Government can pull.

“Insurance premium tax breaks for those undertaking additional training would be a good start and can be an incentive for new drivers.”

A DfT spokesperson said: “We are carefully considering next steps on e-scooters, but in the meantime private ones remain illegal for use on public roads.

“We are committed to tackling high car insurance costs as part of our Plan for Change to raise living standards across Britain and that’s why we have set up a cross-Government taskforce to look at how we can help stabilise or reduce premiums.”