Clinton Rogers: Why do e-scooter laws differ to e-bike laws?

For them or against them, on our ever more crowded roads, you can’t help but notice a quiet revolution taking place.

An electrically-powered revolution.

It’s the dawn of the electric bike era.

E-bikes are zipping past tractors and dog walkers alike, their riders barely breaking a sweat.

Some call it progress.

Others call it laziness on two wheels.

On a recent sunny morning in West Somerset, I met Wendy, an energised pensioner who was positively glowing after her ride along rural roads close to her home, something she hadn’t attempted in years.

When I gently teased her about it not being "real cycling", her retort was instant and quite ferocious.

"It’s not cheating," she said, tapping her battery pack like a proud badge.

"It’s freedom."

She’s not alone.

Local bike shops report that sales of e-bikes have tripled in the last two years.

But here’s the rub: while e-bikes are buzzing along legally, their smaller, nimbler cousin, the e-scooter, remains stuck in legal limbo.

If you’re riding your own e-scooter on a public road in Somerset today, you’re breaking the law.

And yet, e-bikes, which can go just as fast, are perfectly legal, so long as you are over 14, pedal a bit, and the motor cuts out at 15.5 mph.

Confused?

The Department for Transport says it’s reviewing things.

They've been reviewing for quite some time now!

Strangely, you can ride an e-scooter on the roads in this country quite legally if it is run by (and therefore presumably insured by) the local authority.

And you need to be at least 16 years old.

But are e-bikes insured?

I doubt it.

So if one hits me at 15.5 mph, where do I stand?

Meanwhile, towns across Europe have embraced e-scooters as part of a cleaner, greener future.

I’ve just come back from a short break in Spain, and they’re everywhere.

But then so are e-bikes.

And as for the "lazy" label?

Well, I’ve watched plenty of lycra-clad weekend warriors puff past me on hills, red-faced and sweating like pink farm animals.

If someone wants to glide up that same hill with a little help from a battery, who are we to scoff?

I may even give it a go myself, once I’ve won the lottery (boy, are they expensive!).

But with more and more parts of the country bringing in 20 mph zones, can I plead with all cyclists (powered or otherwise) to leave a metre gap when they overtake my car?

It’s only fair.