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[Bper]

New driving laws are set to be introduced which could see thousands of motorists needing to input their licence information when using electric scooters.

From December 5, any person riding an electric scooter as part of the Government trials must provide their name and driving licence number, whether they are a new or existing user.

Further new requirements are being introduced to ensure that licence checking software, or customer service team checks, are used to check the validity of driving licences.

Riders of electric scooters will also see changes to their experience when using apps, with the vital information now being included.

This will include the relevant age limit for the trial and the rule that the person riding the e-scooter must hold a valid driving licence.

[Moleman]

Should have been the case from day one. ☹️

 

[Haliotis]

2 hours ago, Moleman said:

Should have been the case from day one. ☹️

 

And should include ALL e-scooters - not just those in government trials.  Owners of privately owned e-scooters do not even have to hold any driving licence.  In any case, privately owned e-scooters are illegal on the public highway - the police know this, but have you ever seen them stop one when it passes them by?  They only act if circumstances force them to do so, which is simply not good enough.

[Rhymes with Paris]

I agree Albert, the main problem is the unregulated scooters,so many more of them completely beyond any effective law, and no responsibility for anything,as can't be identified.

Also I believe in the doctrine of enforce the small stuff,as invariably people who break one minor law are always breaking other more serious ones which can be brought to light by a close look at them.

I remember reading about how fare dodgers on the New York subway being pulled in every time, IIRC nearly all of them had outstanding warrants and actively committing other crimes.

Still, I suppose closer regulation of the legal ones is a start.

I wonder if provisional license holders will have to complete a CBT as they do for bikes and mopeds (apart from people who passed a car test in 2001 or earlier I think,or have a proper bike license anyway)

If it was up to me, every single one of the illegal ones would be seized and scrapped.

Might save a few house fires too caused by charging the crappy cheap batteries indoors.

 

[FROSTYBALLS]

Only issue would be, who is going to pay for the setting up and operation of any licence scheme .... 

Ultimately it will be you and I - yet another burden on the taxpayer ....

 

[Haliotis]

Paul, they’ll leave it too late, as they have for towed trailers, caravans, etc.  For example, in the EU, including the Republic of Ireland, all towed units are required by law to have their own unique registration plates, and there is duty similar to road tax.  This immediately places them available for MoT, and traceability.  In our years of caravanning, I have met several people whose caravans should never be on the roads - from major electrical/mechanical faults to seriously unmatched outfits.

[Cyker]

Wait, is this for all of them or just the 'legal' scooters outsourced by local councils that you can rent?

If the latter, I wonder if they realize this is just going to bury that as a business...

Why would anyone bother to risk fines renting one of these things when they could rent a bicycle or just use an illegal e-scooter instead that carries none of the risks?

This just seems like a pointless waste of money, time and effort to me - So par for the course really...

 

 

It's just far far too late - They should have put down legislation on e-scooters and the like from day one, but it's far too late now and they are just in the same lawless category as bicycles.

 

[Bper]

1 hour ago, Cyker said:

Wait, is this for all of them or just the 'legal' scooters outsourced by local councils that you can rent?

If the latter, I wonder if they realize this is just going to bury that as a business...

Why would anyone bother to risk fines renting one of these things when they could rent a bicycle or just use an illegal e-scooter instead that carries none of the risks?

This just seems like a pointless waste of money, time and effort to me - So par for the course really...

 

 

It's just far far too late - They should have put down legislation on e-scooters and the like from day one, but it's far too late now and they are just in the same lawless category as bicycles.

 

Cyker yes the rules will apply to all e-scooter providers whist the trial scheme is in operation. Rules are.

Licence verification procedure – minimum standard

Licence capture and validation

From 5 December 2023 all new and existing active users must provide their name and driving licence number and submit a photograph of the front of the driving licence.

Operators must ensure they have robust systems in place for capturing and storing this information and sharing it with the police if requested. This can be done via a third-party provider, as long as the licence details can be retrieved by the operator.

Licence checking software, or customer service team checks, must also be used to check the validity of all driving licences submitted from 5 December 2023.

Operators must ensure they have in-app messaging that states the rules clearly, including the relevant age limit for the trial and the rule that the person riding the e-scooter must hold a valid driving licence.

[Rhymes with Paris]

Just the 'legal' ones in so called trials, I think Cyker.

Which are nuisance enough IMO.

But from what I read, what you really need to snatch iPhones and Rolexes is a stolen  125cc twist and go petrol powered bike with a machete carrying pillion passenger.

As I would suspect these "ahem" challenged, and deprived characters would be incapable of working out the gear change on a motorcycle.

There is legislation as I understand it on the illegal e scooters,as in they are illegal to use on roads or footpaths,or anywhere else unless on private land with the permission of the landowner.

The police I believe ,have the power to seize and destroy these, and prosecute the riders, but as with any law, no use unless enforced, like riding pushbikes on footpaths and the shoplifting epidemic.

Maybe an import tariff of £1000 per scooter 🛴 might help to curb the infestation of our towns and cities with these things.

 

 

 

 

 

[Bper]

Having not seen an e-scooter for a while as the last one I encountered nearly took my arm off as it zoomed past us on a pavement at Mach 1.

Any legislation that can help to make it more difficult for these to be on the road, I for one welcome. 

[Rhymes with Paris]

10 minutes ago, Bper said:

Having not seen an e-scooter for a while 

Try scattering a few peanuts around and stand back.

They will soon gather, jumping up and down and screeching at each other.

[dannyboy413]

5 hours ago, Haliotis said:

For example, in the EU, including the Republic of Ireland, all towed units are required by law to have their own unique registration plates, and there is duty similar to road tax

It all depends on the size and number of axles Albert.

 

" Drivers do not need a trailer license to pull a trailer up to 750Kg Gross Capacity (B Licence)." There are all sorts of rules/regulations for trailers, but it does depend on size and axles. 

[Haliotis]

12 hours ago, dannyboy413 said:

 

 

" Drivers do not need a trailer license to pull a trailer up to 750Kg Gross Capacity (B Licence)." There are all sorts of rules/regulations for trailers, but it does depend on size and axles. 

Doesn’t the above refer to the driver’s licence classification?

When in France, I noticed all sizes of caravans from EU countries and ROI had their own registration plates .   I hadn’t really taken much notice of this until, arriving at a campsite, there was a car parked on the pitch allocated to me.   I went to enquire whose car it was, and found that it belonged to the owner of a caravan on the pitch adjacent to  mine.

[dannyboy413]

@Haliotis You are correct Albert. However, the point I was making, (probably in a wrong way), is that the legal requirements vary a lot depending on the size of the trailer and its 'Design Gross Vehicle Weight'. My trailer, for example, which is only about 6' x 4' with a single axle, does not, generally, have to have brakes or a number plate. I do only use it to take my two wheelie bins to the collection point, which is over half a mile away, down a hill and up the other side, once a month! In summer it is not so bad, but in winter ....... 

[Bper]

31 minutes ago, dannyboy413 said:

@Haliotis You are correct Albert. However, the point I was making, (probably in a wrong way), is that the legal requirements vary a lot depending on the size of the trailer and its 'Design Gross Vehicle Weight'. My trailer, for example, which is only about 6' x 4' with a single axle, does not, generally, have to have brakes or a number plate. I do only use it to take my two wheelie bins to the collection point, which is over half a mile away, down a hill and up the other side, once a month! In summer it is not so bad, but in winter ....... 

Hi David, Are your wheelie bins for domestic rubbish , if so once a month you get them emptied or are they for some other purposes.? I assume you live on a farm, sorry for being nosey.

[dannyboy413]

@Bper Bob, the wheelie bins are for domestic rubbish. The binmen come round every two weeks and will empty which ever bins we put out. It only takes two weeks to fill the recycling bin, (we feed a lot of stray cats, so there is always a load of tins, which get squashed.  Actually, when I say 'we', I mean SWMBO!). The other bin is for  general rubbish. So, week 2 = recycling bin and week 4 = recycling and general bins. It is not so bad just taking one bin, but when it comes to taking both bins, I use the trailer. Whilst I don't live on a farm, my house is, literally, in the middle of farmland. I actually have a right of access over the land to get to the house and the farmer has a right of access over the far side of my land to get to a field at the rear of my property. (And I don't mind you being nosey, as long as you don't ask for my bank detais. 🙂).

[Bper]

25 minutes ago, dannyboy413 said:

@Bper Bob, the wheelie bins are for domestic rubbish. The binmen come round every two weeks and will empty which ever bins we put out. It only takes two weeks to fill the recycling bin, (we feed a lot of stray cats, so there is always a load of tins, which get squashed.  Actually, when I say 'we', I mean SWMBO!). The other bin is for  general rubbish. So, week 2 = recycling bin and week 4 = recycling and general bins. It is not so bad just taking one bin, but when it comes to taking both bins, I use the trailer. Whilst I don't live on a farm, my house is, literally, in the middle of farmland. I actually have a right of access over the land to get to the house and the farmer has a right of access over the far side of my land to get to a field at the rear of my property. (And I don't mind you being nosey, as long as you don't ask for my bank detais. 🙂).

It sounds a great place in the summer but a bit tricky in the winter if it snows I suspect.

[dannyboy413]

It is a lovely place in the summer Bob, all fields and trees, but, as you suggest, can be a bit tricky in winter. Having said that, we have never been snowed in and I have only encountered 'major' problems twice. Once when I was going up the hill to the lane and did not quite make it, the car, an Opel Astra, lost it and slid a few feet off the gravel. The only thing I could do was reverse, but ended up damaging the front bumper, which, fortunately, the insurance paid out on. The second occasion was coming the opposite way - trying to get up to the house with a load of shopping. The car got half way up the hill and then decided it was going no further. So, we took the shopping out of the boot and then Louisa said, "Why didn't you put the handbrake on?" I ever so politely said that the handbrake was on, turned round and saw the car, (another Astra), gently sliding down the drive. Fortunately, it slid off the gravel and into the grass verge and no damage done. 24 hours later there was enough of a thaw for me to get the car back up the hill to the house.

[Rhymes with Paris]

Sounds a bit like the place I visited in 92, it was summer,so lovely weather.

Took my old dad back to his birthplace, proper Guinness and great people.

Hired a boat on the Lough on the Carrick,dad took a funny turn as the Lough cut up a bit rough, so pulled in to a pub tie up.

It was before the pub was open and I knocked on the back door, and the landlord said to come in, and laid dad down, and looked after him, with his wife and daughter.

Made a pot of tea and some toast, and after making sure that no ambulance was needed, assured me that they would look after him until I could get back to the boat hire, pick up my car, and come and get him back to the cottage.

All this from people I had never met before.

I also Remember reading about a plane crash that happened in Wicklow in 1946 with French girl guides aboard, the care for them, and effort in getting them to hospital from local people was heroic.

I would visit again, but travel is a bit beyond me now.

[Bper]

13 hours ago, dannyboy413 said:

It is a lovely place in the summer Bob, all fields and trees, but, as you suggest, can be a bit tricky in winter. Having said that, we have never been snowed in and I have only encountered 'major' problems twice. Once when I was going up the hill to the lane and did not quite make it, the car, an Opel Astra, lost it and slid a few feet off the gravel. The only thing I could do was reverse, but ended up damaging the front bumper, which, fortunately, the insurance paid out on. The second occasion was coming the opposite way - trying to get up to the house with a load of shopping. The car got half way up the hill and then decided it was going no further. So, we took the shopping out of the boot and then Louisa said, "Why didn't you put the handbrake on?" I ever so politely said that the handbrake was on, turned round and saw the car, (another Astra), gently sliding down the drive. Fortunately, it slid off the gravel and into the grass verge and no damage done. 24 hours later there was enough of a thaw for me to get the car back up the hill to the house.

 

 

13 hours ago, dannyboy413 said:

It is a lovely place in the summer Bob, all fields and trees, but, as you suggest, can be a bit tricky in winter. Having said that, we have never been snowed in and I have only encountered 'major' problems twice. Once when I was going up the hill to the lane and did not quite make it, the car, an Opel Astra, lost it and slid a few feet off the gravel. The only thing I could do was reverse, but ended up damaging the front bumper, which, fortunately, the insurance paid out on. The second occasion was coming the opposite way - trying to get up to the house with a load of shopping. The car got half way up the hill and then decided it was going no further. So, we took the shopping out of the boot and then Louisa said, "Why didn't you put the handbrake on?" I ever so politely said that the handbrake was on, turned round and saw the car, (another Astra), gently sliding down the drive. Fortunately, it slid off the gravel and into the grass verge and no damage done. 24 hours later there was enough of a thaw for me to get the car back up the hill to the house.

Hi David, By the sounds of it bad weather is not your friend where you are. If you do get your car stuck I assume you have neighbours near by that could  help.

[dannyboy413]

@Bper

Nearby? What's nearby? Only joking, as the crow flies, the nearest neighbour is about half a mile away, nearly a mile by road. The bloke that I bought the house from, (the farmer referred to earlier), lives just over a mile away in the other direction. I have telephoned him a few times to ask him to bring his big chainsaw to the lane due to fallen trees that I could not move myself and he did once pull me out of a ditch at the side of the lane, (my fault!), using his 4x4. He is a nice bloke and we occasionally go out for a meal with him. 

[Bper]

22 minutes ago, dannyboy413 said:

@Bper

Nearby? What's nearby? Only joking, as the crow flies, the nearest neighbour is about half a mile away, nearly a mile by road. The bloke that I bought the house from, (the farmer referred to earlier), lives just over a mile away in the other direction. I have telephoned him a few times to ask him to bring his big chainsaw to the lane due to fallen trees that I could not move myself and he did once pull me out of a ditch at the side of the lane, (my fault!), using his 4x4. He is a nice bloke and we occasionally go out for a meal with him. 

Hi David, it must be nice being so remote but personally I would find it a bit too isolating, we are also so used to convenience no doubt a legacy of many years previously living in London. Having been to Ireland a couple of times we loved Kerry and also stayed in Cork on a separate occasion. Great people great food and as for the drink,hic.

Do you have any local shops or a nearby supermarket etc and any pubs where you are or is it a bit of a drive. 😀

[dannyboy413]

To go anywhere is a bit of a drive Bob! My wife works in a small supermarket, 10 miles away, and there a few other shops in the town. Well, it is called a town over here, in England it would be a village! There is a small (ish) Tesco 5 miles away in another town, that has a few more shops. As for going to the pub for a drink, the nearest is, again, about 5 miles away, so I  do most of my drinking at home - it is a lot cheaper! I tend to do most of the shopping and quite look forward to my Thursday or Friday trip out to Carrick-on-Shannon, which is 20 miles away. I go to a big Tesco and then to a lovely little pastry shop for two strawberry tarts - we have been getting them for years and the quality never varies. On the way back, I call in at an Aldi and then, if necessary, fill up at my usual petrol station. But the rest of the week, yes, I am quite isolated, but to be honest, I don't mind it - I spend some of the time having intelligent conversations with myself! 😀

[Rhymes with Paris]

28 minutes ago, dannyboy413 said:

- I spend some of the time having intelligent conversations with myself! 😀

They can be the most interesting conversations.🙂

Btw, what is the price of a Guinness in rural Ireland now?

I can't really remember the price when I was last there in around 2010,bus from Dublin airport to Kilkenny, and staying with gf relatives nearby.

But stayed the first night at a fishing lodge, and they had a bar and seemed to be a local pub aswell.

Well, local as in there were no houses nearby , but a few regulars in I reckon.

 

[dannyboy413]

On 12/10/2023 at 9:44 PM, Rhymes with Paris said:

Btw, what is the price of a Guinness in rural Ireland now?

 

 

I can not remember the last time I bought a pint of Guinness in a pub, but I remember reading earlier in the year that it was nearly €9 a pint in Dublin . Obviously that is a 'tourist' price, like most things in Dublin!