[e-bikes and e-scooters] were taken off Scotland’s streets in 2025.

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The Daily Record, four days ago, put its finger on the underlying factor in the above surge of e-bike police confiscations:

Beyond local anti-social behaviour, they have become the preferred transport for county lines drug-running and street robbery, offering escape for criminals.

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/take-back-control-e-bike-37654208

While many of the children riding these e-bikes to deliver drugs are local, the entire drug distribution operation in Scotland has been colonised by a violent culture that emerged in large cities in England. For a full evidence-based explanation of this, see: https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/2026/05/14/county-lines-national-police-chiefs-council-confirms-exports-of-deadly-drugs-and-violence-from-england-into-scotland/

In terms of the wider overall scale, Scotland has been protected. See:

NOTE - I know much of this is re-pasted from earlier posts on this topic. First, the bias, the targets, the Unionist claims that TuS seeks to rebut, are repeats of the same themes used by the media and opposition parties to undermine the Scottish Government, SNP and wider movement. Our primary purpose is to keep you ready to rebut in your own world and to cover the wide range of possibilities as efficiently as we can. Also, only a very small percentage (<5%?) of our social media following ever open the full blog post.

When you compare the number of casualties involving e-bikes.

In 2024, the UK, saw 1 390 casualties.¹

With 8% of the population, you might then expect around 111 casualties in Scotland.

There were 18, one sixth of the level.²

Why might this be?

I suppose weather will be a factor but the lack of legal government-backed trials in Scotland, even regulated, with speed limits, geofencing, insurance, and age checks have not increased exposure in high-traffic urban areas here, keeping casualties down here.³

Has the Scottish Government been criticised for a lack of rental trials and keeping casualties down? Indeed. The Scotsman, no surprise there:

So, the SNP Government can be accused by some, well all of the media, for not supporting this exciting new initiative and in so doing keeping us all safe. They’ll need to work on the wording for that one.

Sources:

1. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/reported-road-casualties-great-britain-e-scooter-factsheet-2024/reported-road-casualties-great-britain-e-scooter-factsheet-2024
2. https://www.gov.scot/publications/foi-202500485456/
3. https://zagdaily.com/micromobility/five-years-of-uk-e-scooter-trials-what-are-the-lessons-learned/

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