Southampton driver speaks out after almost hitting e

"He was lucky to go home."

These are the words of a Southampton man who nearly crashed his car into a teenage boy who was riding an e-scooter.

Martin Sennett was driving back home to Bitterne when he narrowly avoided hitting a boy crossing Spring Road on his e-scooter.

Speaking to the Echo, the 72-year-old said: "I was driving up the road towards Bitterne when I suddenly had to apply brakes.

"There were two boys, one of them had already crossed the road but the other one was crossing the road without even looking.

"To me, they looked like they were 12 or 13 years old.

"The one that shot straight across didn't even turn to look at me.

"He was so close to my car's bumper."

READ MORE: 'I've been knocked over myself' - E-scooter injuries on the rise in Hampshire

The incident took place on Monday, May 29 at around 6.40pm. Private e-scooters are illegal. Voi e-scooters are legal but are subject to rules on who can rent them.

After the incident, Martin went back home and looked at the footage taken by his dashcam.

He is now calling for action to stop youngsters from riding e-scooters badly.

He added: "I don't like e-scooters because of the way they are used.

"They tend to be misused and they're quite dangerous.

"I've even seen one in Hedge End where three schoolgirls were riding together on one e-scooter.

"I appreciate they could be quite good fun, but they're also quite dangerous.

"I think the only way we can help prevent these kinds of incidents in the future is if we ban them as they have in some other countries."

READ MORE: Woman 'still in shock' after e-scooter hit and run

New figures by Department for Transport show that more people were injured in e-scooter collisions in Hampshire last year.

It reveals that in 2022, 94 casualties were recorded by Hampshire Constabulary.

It was up from 69 in 2021 and a significant increase from 17 casualties two years prior.

Hampshire follows the overall trend across the UK where there is an ever-rising number of e-scooter casualties.

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