Pavements need to be made safer with a clamp down on the ‘illegal use’ of e-scooters, campaigners have said.
The ‘silent nature’ of the machines makes it hard for blind and partially sighted people to hear them.
A petition has now been delivered to No 10 as part of a bid to urge politicians to take action.
It comes as a new survey from the Guide Dogs charity revealed a total of 6,321 privately owned e-scooters were confiscated by police in 2021.
The figures, obtained via a Freedom of Information request, also show that 21 police forces recorded at least 264 e-scooter offences.
Guide Dogs has released the figures as its petition, with over 42,194 signatures, is delivered to the prime minister.
He has been called upon to ‘make pavements safer.’
Elaine Maries, one of the Guide Dogs service users handing in the e-scooter petition to the Prime Minister, has been knocked over twice by e-scooters.
She said: ‘It is hard to avoid e-scooters when they come up behind you and you cannot hear them.
‘The first time I was hit by an e-scooter was just outside my house in May 2021, when two young people riding the same e-scooter hit me causing me to fall over into my guide dog Inca.
‘They just got up and just rode away but I was left bruised, and my guide dog Inca pulled a muscle in her leg, putting her out of action for six weeks and me without my guide dog.
‘Two months later I tripped over an e-scooter left on the pavement and fractured my foot.
‘What people do not realise is when something like this happens, that is my complete independence gone.’
Just this week, a woman died after she was hit by an e-scooter being ridden by a 14-year-old boy in Nottinghamshire.
Linda Davis, 71, was on the pavement when she was hit by the scooter in Rainworth, Nottinghamshire, on June 2.
She was the first pedestrian to have died following an e-scooter crash.
Campaigners hope further legislation could ensure a second death never follows.
The Guide Dogs petition calls on Mr Johnson to launch a public information campaign to stop illegal use of e-scooters.
It also has urged the prime minister to work with police to make sure they are enforcing the law, and to publish his plan on legislation.
Previous research carried out on behalf of the Guide Dogs charity found that 75% of people with sight loss who had encountered an e-scooter had already had a negative experience.
Alarmingly, 12% of respondents reported their mobility aid or cane being hit by an e-scooter.
And one in ten people with sight loss had been hit, but not injured, by an e-scooter.
Some blind and partially-sighted people have taken to avoiding certain parts of town to make sure they avoid risks of an accident, the charity also found.
People with sight loss expressed also raised concerns about the silent nature of e-scooters – which makes them hard to detect and avoid.
Chris Theobald, senior policy, public affairs and campaigns manager at Guide Dogs, said: ‘The Government has signalled that wider legislation of e-scooters is likely in the upcoming Transport Bill.
‘If the Government are serious about expanding the use of e-scooters, they need to urgently prioritise safety.
‘Any plans to legalise e-scooters must address their speed, weight, and sound, with clear rules to follow to ensure they are kept off pavements and used on the road alongside other motorised vehicles.
‘In the meantime, more can be done to tackle illegal use, and to educate the public.
‘It is critical that the government considers the needs of everyone especially people who are blind or partially sighted.’
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