After son’s e-scooter death, UK mother campaigns for tighter rules
ArchiveFirst published July 4, 2025. It may not reflect later developments.
Jacob Calland, 14, was riding on the back of a friend’s e-scooter when it crashed in Manchester, England, in March 2025. His mother has since made a film about his death and is campaigning for stricter laws on who can buy and ride the devices.
18 minutes from home
On March 19, 2025, Jacob left his family’s home in Wythenshawe, a district of Manchester. He rode as a passenger on an e-scooter belonging to a 15-year-old friend, and neither boy was wearing a helmet or other protective gear, The Independent reported.
“He left this front door and 18 minutes later, he was no longer here,” his mother, Carly Calland, said.
The pair were traveling along Timpson Road through the junction with Southmoor Road when the scooter collided with a car and came to rest on another vehicle, according to the Manchester Evening News. The paper later reported that the rider had gone through a red light onto a busy dual carriageway and hit a BMW, sending both boys through the air before they collided with a stationary Peugeot.
Jacob suffered a serious brain injury and was treated at Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital. He died on March 27, 2025, eight days after the crash. Carly, 36, had refused to let him have an e-scooter of his own.
A film and a petition
In May 2025, Carly released an 18-minute film, “Jacob’s Journey – Life over Death,” retracing what happened. It is embedded below.
Through the Jacob’s Journey campaign, she started a parliamentary petition asking the government to ban the sale and use of e-scooters to anyone under 18, make helmets and protective equipment mandatory, require licences and insurance, ban carrying passengers and toughen punishments for people who break the rules or allow others to.
“I’m not saying ban e-scooters completely, I’m saying let’s put rules in place to make them safer,” she told the Manchester Evening News.
The petition closed with 31,487 signatures, according to the campaign. On Nov. 18, 2025, Carly met transport ministers Simon Lightwood and Mike Kane in Westminster. The campaign said she was told the government is committed to reforming the law and would involve her in its consultation.
The rider is sentenced
Greater Manchester Police investigated the crash and appealed for the driver of a white Kia Venga, who they stressed was not a suspect but might have useful information. In June 2026, the 15-year-old rider, who cannot be named because of his age, pleaded guilty to causing Jacob’s death by dangerous driving. He received an 18-month youth referral order and a five-year driving ban, the Manchester Evening News reported.
Carly said the outcome fell short. “This sentence is a slap on the wrist and it doesn’t back what I’m trying to do,” she said. “You wouldn’t let your child drive a car, so you shouldn’t let them on an e-scooter.”
Detective Constable Steve Pennington of the force’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit urged parents to pay attention. “E-scooters are not harmless toys,” he said, adding that they “can lead to horrific consequences when used by inexperienced riders.”
In September 2026, Carly completed a skydive that raised £10,461.24 for the North West Air Ambulance Charity, according to the campaign website.
Background: e-scooter rules in the UK
In the UK, it is illegal to ride a privately owned e-scooter on public roads or pavements. “The use of private e-scooters is illegal in any public space,” the Department for Transport said in a statement reported by The Independent. Only rental scooters in official government trial areas can be ridden legally on roads, and riders must hold at least a provisional driving licence.
Even so, private e-scooters are widely sold, and there is no minimum age to buy one. The scooter involved in Jacob’s crash had been bought online, the Manchester Evening News reported. Campaigners like Carly argue that the gap between what is legal to buy and what is legal to ride leaves children exposed to risks they may not understand.
Sources
- The Independent – Aug. 9, 2025
- Manchester Evening News – July 1, 2025
- Manchester Evening News (sentencing) – June 30, 2026
- Jacob’s Journey campaign
- GOV.UK: E-scooter trials guidance for users
