Wightlink has announced that e-scooters and other small electric vehicles such as e-unicycles, e-skateboards and hoverboards will not be allowed on Wightlink’s ferries or at its ports and buildings from Monday 2nd October 2023.
The news comes in the wake of calls from some quarters for electric vehicles of all types to be banned from ferries following concerns about fires, with 1 ferry company in Norway – Havila Kystruten – already taking that step.
However, this ban only pertains to the small vehicles outlined above as they are not tested or regulated.
A spokesperson for Wightlink has said:
“The decision has been made on safety grounds because these items are not tested or regulated and there have been increasing numbers of reports of fires linked to their batteries.
“E-bikes, electric wheelchairs and mobility scooters are not affected by the ban as they are legally approved for use in the UK.
I knew they were bad ever since that wheelchair scene from Batman Vs Superman
On ebay you can buy genuine looking type approved stickers.
How are the staff going to know what is real and what is fake.?
If they ban these electronic items then they should also ban electric cars too.
They should just ban young people, they are the problem.
Ban young people from wightlink or ban young people from being alive.?
You are right they are a problem on electric bikes that can reach 40mph, but the young people did not buy them, their parents did.
What would you like for your 8th birthday son.?
An electric bike that does 40mph please.
Ok would you like a crash helmet and safety clothes to wear while you ride in traffic.?
No thanks.
Ok happy birthday son, remember to ride it on the pavement too.
If you ban young people how will they become old grumpy dinosaurs like some people lol
It’s coming…
It doesn’t say they are banned unless they have a sticker it says they are banned period. Don’t think a sticker is going to change anything. I don’t think the fact that its real or fake is relevant.
E-bikes use the exact same batteries as the e-scooters! This is so stupid they want people to green, we do they ban them. If they’re gonna ban then do the e-bikes too. They need to do research! With that statement they obviously don’t. Discrimination at its finest.
Wightlink will be losing money from deliveries then. How do they think these come to the island!!
E scooters are not legal on public roads or footpaths, so should be banned.
They are not banned. The law states you can ride on the a public highway as long as the hav indicators, a brake light and a front light and is insured as a shared item on trial. As the ones that are allready on public highways.
But you must’ve not of seen them ones.
There have been more fires from e-bikes then there ever has from e-scooters
I know this as I have done alot of research on this as I bought due to it being more of a safer item than an e-bike..
Have a look on the internet you will learn alot from factual pages.. London fire brigade is a good one..
E scooter’s are not legal only Beryl and you cannot take off island so e scooter’s should be same. Why however banning any of these I do not understand as they are only a fire risk when on charge,where as e car’s are a risk at all times, as we have seen.
I don’t want I go green it’s all bullshit…
How are they going to tell if you have one of the banned items in your car??
Are they going to start doing customs style searches of vehicles waiting to board the ferry??
I think people will find that they are required to declare if they are carrying a dangerous cargo,
I think you will find that campers have been bringing over gas cannisters for years without declaring them. Unlike border force officers, Wightlink staff have no power to search a vehicle.
On a practical level, how do they intend to stop anyone bringing an e-scooter in the boot of their car?
Well they can’t
I haven’t followed all the reported incidents faithfully but have the strong impression that the catastrophic explosions and fires tend to happen when the batteries are being charged, sometimes with unapproved chargers.
Private e-scooters and are not road legal in the UK, and have just been returned to illegal status in Paris, so shouldn’t be an issue but surely the problem will be those passengers who remove the battery from their e-bikes to get a sneaky 30 min charge from a socket in the passenger lounge during the crossing.
Very difficult to monitor.
Hope that charger on the ferry is CE approved then… 🙂
Since Brexit, it has to be UKCA approved, not CE…
At least one e-scooter has burst into flames on the tube which is why they have banned battery vehicles
I’m just waiting for the first major vehicle fire on board. It could be devastating and our ferry companies cannot say they had no idea of the risk
Should ban alcohol sales on board if they want to promote healthy practices.
If they are considered a danger, why wait over 3 weeks?
Bit like the Plandemic, when all different dates were given for such
totalitarian rules.
It was an electric car which caused the recent fire aboard the cargo ship. So how do you deal with that? When you have a ferry full of them.
And the Government want people to go electric
Lol
Good so it begins..stop the crap of ev
Apply an enormous charge on their fares. Oh you already do