Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has promised to crack down on illegal e-scooter sales in England.
He told MPs on the Commons Transport Committee that approved models could then be approved for use on public roads.
New legislation for England could be presented in the Queen’s speech on May 10, Mr Shapps said.
E-scooters are commonly sold and seen in cities, but are currently only legal for use on private property.
“I want to crack down on the private market and make it illegal to sell e-scooters that don’t meet the regulatory standards that we’re going to put in place,” he told MPs.
E-scooters are currently only road legal when rented as part of government tests, which have safety features such as 25.5 km/h speed limits and automatic lights.
More than 30 areas – including London, Newcastle, Bristol and Bournemouth – are already running pilot schemes.
Government figures show that in the year to June 2021 there were 931 e-scooter-related victims and three deaths.
None of the deaths involved official court proceedings, Mr Shapps said.
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Mr Shapps also hinted that e-scooters that meet government standards could soon be legalized for use on public roads in England.
“We will take powers to properly regulate them and then be able to decide how to use them,” he said.
There are currently no standards for e-scooters because they are not legally recognized as a means of transport, he emphasized.
“The first thing to do is set standards. How powerful can they be, how fast do they go, do they have turn signals, do they have lights at night and so on,” he said.
“And second, retailers need to be held accountable. You can make it a criminal offense to sell something that doesn’t fit the law.”
“If you go to any other country in the world … you will see that they are used very regularly. You can’t invent technology,” added Mr. Shapps.
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