Man who broke his leg after being knocked off e-scooter backs campaign across Northamptonshire to improve awareness

A man who broke his leg after being knocked off an e-scooter has backed a campaign to improve the awareness of Voi scooters across Northamptonshire.

Stuart Johnson was riding a Voi electric scooter in Weedon Road on Friday, January 13 at 5.45pm when he was hit by a delivery driver turning left at the Spencer Bridge Road junction.

The builder, who was on his way to the train station for a night out in Birmingham, was left lying in the road for 45 minutes with a broken leg and in “excruciating” pain before being picked up by an ambulance.

The 50-year-old spent nearly three weeks in Northampton General Hospital and University Coventry Hospital where he had two operations to fix his broken leg before he was discharged.

Following the incident, Stuart spoke to Chronicle & Echo and called on Voi and the council to introduce more safety features as part of the scheme. Now Stuart is backing a campaign by Northamptonshire Police, West and North Northamptonshire Councils and Voi whereby road users are being asked to look out for each other.

The authorities and e-scooter company have today (Wednesday August 16) launched the campaign to raise awareness of the rules of the road for e-scooters and e-bikes. The key aim of the campaign is to ensure everyone using the roads know what to do in order to remain alert at junctions and roundabouts.

Stuart said: “I welcome this campaign and hope it will prevent further accidents like mine.

“E-scooters are still a relatively new form of transport, but I do believe they’re here to stay. Improvements to the e-scooter and its technology are continuously being made and introduced, to improve the riders safety.

“However, I strongly believe a major cause of road accidents relate to general road users and a lack of particular awareness. For me it’s essential that the general perception of the hazard is improved.

“I sincerely hope through this campaign that going forward we all learn to share the road more safely with each other.”

Voi e-scooters first launched in Northampton in September 2020, before Kettering, Wellingborough, Corby Rushden and Higham Ferrers followed. Voi e-bikes are also available in Northampton and Kettering. In December last year, the councils agreed to the extension of the trial until May 2024.

There have been nearly 5.5 million journeys on Voi e-scooters since the e-scooter trials started almost three years ago.

Since the beginning of the scheme a number of road traffic collisions have involved Voi scooters, two deaths have been linked to the scheme and there have been complaints about scooters ‘snapping’. Other complaints include e-scooters being ridden on pavements, under-age riders, scooters being left in hazardous places and dangerous riding on roads.

Police say incidents that have happened have prompted the launch of this campaign. They also say of the millions of rides completed most are “without any problems”.

What have the authorities said about the campaign?

Safer Roads Team Manager Matt O’Connell said: “The Voi e-scooters have been in the county for nearly three years now and offer a greener, more sustainable way to travel.

“Since they launched in 2020, we have worked closely with Voi on e-scooter safety and continue to have regular meetings with them to identify and manage any issues.

“We wholeheartedly back this campaign as it’s really important for drivers to be aware that they now share the roads with e-scooter riders who are vulnerable road users.

“This means ensuring that a driver is alert and aware of their surroundings, that they give e-scooters plenty of space when passing and to watch out for them at junctions.

“Similarly, this campaign is also targeted at e-scooter riders who need to ensure they are also riding sensibly – not on the pavement, at safe speeds and fully aware of their surroundings.”

Councillor Matt Binley, North Northamptonshire Council’s Executive Member for Highways, Travel and Assets, added: “Since the e-scooter trials were launched, they have gone from strength to strength with more people using Voi’s e-scooters to travel around our towns.

“We are always working with Voi to improve safety, but we also need everyone’s help and with more journeys taking place on e-scooters, it is important that we all think and are safe when out and about, including drivers, riders, pedestrians and other road users.”

Matthew Pencharz, head of public policy for Voi UK, Ireland and France, continued: “E-scooters are designed to be ridden on the roads - it’s illegal to ride an e-scooter on the pavement.

“It’s important for drivers and riders to be respectful of one another and to remember that we all share the road together.

“E-scooters are a safe, affordable and convenient form of transport which don’t cause congestion and air pollution - and we hope this campaign will make them safer still.”

What safety measures are in place for Voi e-scooters?

Voi users must complete online training when signing up to the app which covers regulations for using e-scooters and e-bikes including safety requirements. This is supported by recent ongoing in-person safety training in the county.

Voi runs a series of safety events, both in person and monthly online safety webinars. The next in person event in Northamptonshire is in September. To book a place visit https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/uk-forthcoming-events-200259.

Riders must be aged 18 or over and have a full or provisional driving licence to be able to ride a Voi e-scooter.

There is a way to report e-scooter misuse on the Voi website.

Find out more about the campaign by following the hashtag #WeShareTheRoad on social media.