RECENTLY, a man lost control of his electric bike, careered off the pavement and landed in a heap in the path of my car.
Luckily for him, I slammed on my brakes and managed to avoid hitting him.
And luckily for me, no one crashed in to the back of me.
When I got out to check he was OK (he was), it was clear he was either roaring drunk, high or both.
Summer is hazardous enough, when long days of relaxing in the local park with supermarket wine, or drinking in the pub all day with mates, makes everyone feel invincible and, consequently, prone to doing something stupid.
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And now they can hop on a rented electric bike or e-scooter with just the swipe of a credit card and not a single lesson in road safety.
Walking or driving around our cities on even a moderately hot weekend now feels like one of those video games where your observational skills are tested by a variety of hazards coming from all quarters.
I see young women wobbling around on rented bikes and scooters, an over-stuffed tote bag on one shoulder tipping them off balance.
I see people riding one-handed while looking at their phones.
I see others speeding at full pelt past parked cars and just hope that no one steps out in front of them.
And I see groups of friends, merry after a day of drinking, looking over their shoulders to chat with no regard of what’s happening in front of them. Terrifying.
And then there’s the children on e-scooters. They might look like men, but they’re usually young lads with the bravado of youth but little or no experience of being in control of a powerful machine.
This week, 12-year-old Mustafa Nadeem, from Birmingham, died while riding one on his way to school.
He was going along the pavement, collided with a pedestrian and fell in to the path of a bus.
A far-reaching tragedy for Mustafa, his family, the pedestrian, the bus driver and both their loved ones who have to help them deal with the fallout.
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E-scooters are authorised in the area as part of a national pilot scheme, but you must be over 18 with a valid driving licence.
However, the boy’s 14-year-old friend had managed to transfer his father’s account over to his phone and unlocked the scooter for him.
Used by gangs
Following the inquest, the coroner said the evidence demonstrated the ease with which children can illegally rent e-scooters and that a “risk of future deaths will occur unless action is taken and I believe the Department of Transport has the power to take such action”.
Let’s hope so, because statistics already show that the number of people killed in e-scooter crashes has tripled, from four deaths in 2021 to 12 last year.
Meanwhile, the number of people seriously injured by e-scooters — both drivers and pedestrians — has almost doubled, up from 228 to 429.
Given that high-powered e-scooters are also being increasingly used by gangs in city centres, that figure will only get higher unless there’s an effective clampdown.
We need tighter regulation, which could include the immediate confiscation of e-bikes that have been “turned” to remove speed limiters, greater responsibility placed on rental apps to ensure age restrictions are being followed, and perhaps a highly visible, unique number (like licence plates for cars) that will make each one identifiable when its rider breaks the law.
Motorists (particularly those in Sadiq “Khant’s” London) are now subjected to more rules, regulations, taxes and covert cameras than ever before.
Now it’s time for e-machines to be placed under the same scrutiny.
MY youngest is a student, having just completed her first year at college.
After several months of receiving council tax demands, despite repeatedly informing them that she’s a student and therefore exempt, it seems the penny has finally dropped.
Except the latest letter informed her and her housemates that they need to pay £13 for the dates of September 16 to 19 as this was the “induction period” when they weren’t officially classed as students.
Petty bureaucracy indeed.
PRINCE CHARM
WHAT a gorgeous photo of Prince George on his tenth birthday.
By all accounts, he is a friendly and polite boy – an absolute credit to his doting parents.
Rumour has it that he will follow in the footsteps of Princes William and Harry by going to Eton, widely regarded as the UK’s top boys’ boarding school.
Though one hopes he may leave it with slightly better exam results than his uncle.
ON Monday I watched Barbie which, unlike my colleague Piers Morgan, I found entertainingly tongue-in-cheek.
And just when I thought I couldn’t love Ryan Gosling any more, I now do.
The irony being, of course, that although it is viewed as a “feminist” movie, he steals every scene he’s in.
COVID JOKERS
LEGAL & General has written asking me to update my details and giving an email address for any further queries.
But when I emailed with a question, I received the following auto-reply: “Owing to measures we are taking to protect our employees and customers from the spread of Covid-19, unfortunately we are only able to offer a reduced service.
“As a result there may be a longer wait time than we would usually expect for your reply.”
Presumably those same employees aren’t going to the supermarket, cinema or pub either?
It’s so laughably 2020 but, sadly, indicative of how Covid is still being weaponised to disguise lousy management, incompetence or, in some cases, plain laziness.
Gary right to enjoy ex on beach
GARY Lineker is currently on holiday in Ibiza with former wife Danielle Bux because they remain the “greatest of friends”.
Gary, 62, is single, but 44-year-old Danielle is married to US lawyer Nate Greenwald who, according to Gary, “is a really good friend of mine now. I know it’s unusual, but it’s a lot better than falling out”.
Hear hear.
It seems daft to throw away years of shared memories, so makes perfect sense to extract the friendship part and move forward together on that footing.
So any single man who still gets on with his ex-wife should only be viewed as positive.
Though to be honest, it would be preferable if she didn’t look this hot in a bikini.
MOUNT CAM’S A-PEEL
A “BANANA cam” has been set up on a Snowdonian peak to stream footage of how long it takes for the discarded yellow peel to rot.
Alec Young, project officer of the Welsh national park, says: “We’re looking to ensure that people think twice about flinging banana peels.”
Giving these fruit chuckers the benefit of the doubt, perhaps they think that as it’s bio-degradable it doesn’t matter.
But one doubts that those following in their footsteps to the top of a supposedly unspoiled beauty spot wish to see the discarded carcass of a fruit that’s not even grown on these shores.
So for God’s sake, just put it in your swag bag and take it back down the mountain to the bin it belongs in please.
When I visited Egypt’s Pyramids last year, my wonderment at how it had ever been built was tempered by the sight of mounds of plastic bottles at its base.
Our guide just shrugged and said, “schoolkids”.
If their teachers are going to drag them to the Pyramids to learn all about their planet’s past, perhaps it might be equally useful to educate them about its future too.
WHILE the anxiety and frustration of British families trying to escape from fire-torn Rhodes is entirely understandable, once they’re safely back home it will eventually reduce to the status of a dramatic story to reminisce about in years to come.
But the people I feel the most sympathy for are those who actually live on the beautiful island, many of whom will have seen their homes and livelihoods destroyed.
ERECTILE dysfunction drugs in the form of breath mints are now available to buy here.
Made by US brand Hims, they contain the same active ingredient as Viagra, can be bought online after a consultation with a healthcare provider and last up to 36 hours.
Why so long? Surely a few minutes will do?
