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Is it legal to use the new hover boards on footpaths?

Question:

My son has recently come home with an electric Self-Balancing Scooter which I understand is also known as a ‘Hover board’. He tells me it is perfectly legal but I am worried about whether it may be an offence to use it in public. Can you tell me if this is classed as a motor vehicle and is it lawful for him to ride this around the footpaths?

Answer:

The term ‘motor vehicle’ is defined in S. 185(1) of the Road Traffic Act 1988 and S.136 (1) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 as “a mechanically propelled vehicle, intended or adapted for use on roads”.  ‘Mechanically propelled’ is not defined in the Acts and is ultimately a matter of fact for the court to decide, however, at a basic level will include any vehicle propelled by mechanical means including electricity and steam.

‘Hover boards’ appear to be an evolution of the Segway personal transporter and the Department for Transport has formed a view that a Segway is a motor vehicle.  The Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 (VERA) states that every mechanically propelled vehicle used or kept on a public road should be registered and licensed.  As self-balancing scooters are mechanically propelled they would require registration and a vehicle registration licence.

For registration a vehicle needs to comply with basic safety standards.  Most two-wheeled vehicles being registered are made in accordance with European rules which came into operation on 17th June 1999.  This is known as the European Community Whole Vehicle Type Approval (ECWVTA) and applies to vehicles capable of more than 4 mph.  A vehicle with a certificate of conformity to ECWVTA is eligible for licensing and registration in the UK.  The Department for Transport has stated that they are unaware of any self-balancing scooters having ECWVTA.  A two or three wheeled vehicle not approved to ECWVTA could theoretically meet requirements of the Motorcycle Single Vehicle Approval scheme (MVSA) but the department for Transport believe self-balancing scooters would fail this inspection.  As self-balancing scooters do not currently meet the legal requirements they are not therefore legal for road use.

Crown prosecution guidance points out that it is also illegal to ride self-balancing scooters on the pavement under S. 72 of the Highway Act 1832.  Clearly there were no Hover boards in 1832 but the Act prohibits the ‘wilful riding upon any causeway by the side of the road set apart for the use of foot passengers’.

It would appear that an unregistered ‘hover board ‘can only be ridden on private land with the landowners permission.

 

 

 

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