Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment with the Minister for Women and Equalities of the potential merits of requiring e-scooters to use a single generic sound for an audio vehicle alert to help support people who are visually impaired.

The Department has put in place measures to improve safety for disabled people and people with sight loss, such as requiring ​all e-scooters in trials to have a bell or a horn so that they are audible. In addition, some operators in trial areas are testing Acoustic Vehicle Alerting Systems (AVASs). These systems generate sound for electric vehicles to improve the safety of vulnerable road users. I recently visited UCL’s PEARL (Person-Environment-Activity Research Laboratory) where e-scooter AVAS testing is taking place, to learn more about the potential merits of this technology.

The Department will continue to work directly with groups representing individuals who are visually impaired, to review options for regulations; and it will consult publicly before any new arrangements come into force.