E-scooters have become increasingly popular in the past few years, but not everyone is aware of the rules around their use and there are growing safety concerns for both riders and pedestrians.

Residents in towns around the region are warning that it is 'just a matter of time' before someone is seriously injured.

However regulations around their use remain unclear for most people while the government works towards creating the laws to allow this 'new form of conveyance' to be ridden in public areas.

"I've seen two near-misses lately," said one local resident.

"We nearly hit a young person on an e-scooter just over a week ago.

"They were riding beside the highway on dusk and suddenly scooted across the road in a badly lit section.

"We only saw him at the last minute and luckily had time to brake."

 At the moment in New South Wales personal e-scooters are illegal on roads and road-related areas, including footpaths, shared paths and bicycle lanes.

They can only be used on private property.

According to Transport for NSW, e-scooters are classified as motor vehicles but cannot be registered as there are "currently no applicable safety standards for them".

Under the NSW Road Rules 2014, electric scooters would be considered a motor bike, which is defined as a motor vehicle with two wheels, and subject to the same licensing and road rules as motor bikes.

But we're not there yet.

The NSW Government have said that they have plans to change the situation in the interests of "transforming personal mobility and boosting active transport".

"Devices such as electric scooters and other similar technologies have the potential to move people out of single occupant cars for first mile and last mile trips, freeing up capacity on the roads for people who need to travel further," the TfNSW website says.

The State Government has run some trials in designated areas across the state, including Kogarah, Albury, Lake Macquarie, Armidale, Western Sydney Parklands and the Australian Botanic Gardens Mount Annan. 

In non-trial areas, including all towns across the Western Plains, it remains illegal to ride privately owned e-scooters on public roads or footpaths.

Although the NSW Government is looking at changing e-scooter laws, it is clear that many riders either aren't aware of or don't care about the current rules.

President of the Safer Coonamble Group Dennis Glover said safety concerns around e-scooters has been brought up frequently in meetings, with many members experiencing their own near-misses in recent months.

Most e-scooters are ridden by children and young people.

"I know they don't realize the road rules, and people don't tell them," said Mr Glover.

"They are dangerous because footpaths are for walking on, and especially for older people because they get skittled easily.

"They're not following road rules, they're dangerous to pedestrians and they shouldn't be on the footpath."