Carly CallandA mother whose 14-year-old son was killed in an e-scooter accident is urging parents not to buy e-scooters as gifts or face being left with “an empty chair” this Christmas.
Jacob Calland died a week after the e-scooter he was travelling on with his friend, who was also 14, crashed into a car on Southmoor Road, Manchester, on 19 March.
“I’m going to be sitting at my Christmas table with an empty chair and I don’t want anyone else to sit with an empty chair at Christmas,” Carly Calland said.
Ms Calland has launched a campaign called #NoEmptyChairs in a bid to warn other families of the dangers.
A “split-second decision” saw her son decide to get on the back of his friend’s scooter, she said.
Ms Calland, who arrived at the scene moments after the crash, said: “Within 18 minutes of him leaving this front door, his life was gone”.
Legal obligation
The campaign warns that buying an e-scooter “may mean an empty chair next Christmas – in your home or someone else’s”.
It is being spearheaded by a video campaign on social media.
E-scooters are legal to buy and use on private land, but it is illegal to ride them on public roads unless they are hired through an authorised rental scheme.
Ms Calland launched the campaign 12 weeks after Jacob’s death calling for the introduction of licences for e-scooters to stop them being sold to those under the age of 18, and new rules prohibiting passengers being carried on the back.
Her campaign also includes a legal obligation to ensure owners have insurance, mandatory wearing of helmets and tough penalties for those who breach the rules.