Q Why was Foxtons chief ’s son banned from driving? A For crossing road on electric unicycle!
THE son of the Foxtons estate agency founder has been banned from driving for six months – after he was caught crossing a road on his electric unicycle.
Extreme sports enthusiast Max Hunt is a former British Supersport motorcyclist, who recently completed a gruelling 5,000 mile off-road rally in South America.
But the 34-year-old came unstuck while travelling on his 12 mph hoverboard-type device after he was found to not have insurance for it.
He was spotted by a policeman as he crossed St James’s Street near Green Park in Central London. It came after he was seen overtaking some pedestrians at a road junction, which is contrary to the Road Traffic Act 1988.
Wimbledon magistrates court heard Hunt already had nine points on his licence for two speeding offences and the further six points he was given for the unicycle incident put him over the maximum limit of 12.
The ban is thought to be the first of its kind in the UK involving the use of a hoverboard on the road. Last year Kamrul Islam, 46, also received points on his licence for using an uninsured Airwheel but was not banned. Hunt said the Airwheel device had been a Christmas present from his in-laws and he was not aware he needed insurance.
He said he was also unaware it is an offence under the Highways Act to ride electric-powered hoverboards on either the pavement or the road. Strict guidelines state the self-balancing scooters can only be used on private land with the permission of the landowner. The Airwheel device is more commonly known as a self-balancing electric unicycle. Instead of having two wheels like a conventional hoverboard, it has a single wheel between 12 and 16 inches in diameter. Prosecutor Aimee Emby said: ‘The defendant was driving the Airwheel device at the crossing ... and in the process the officer asked him to stop and he gives the kind of requirements that are enforced for such vehicles. They require drivers to be insured. [Hunt] ... couldn’t produce proof of insurance.’ Giving evidence, Hunt said he believed the board was ‘just a toy’ and he was unaware it required insurance.
‘My wife’s parents gave it to me for Christmas. It was a toy,’ he said. ‘It was a fun gift.’ The father-of-one, from Notting Hill, west London, admitted one count of using a motor vehicle on a road without third party insurance.
District Judge James Henderson said of Hunt: ‘Because other people were using them on the road he assumed he didn’t need insurance. A moment of research on the internet would have revealed he did. It took me 30 seconds to find the relevant information.
‘He was in no way misled. There was a complete absence of thought.’ Hunt was also fined £500 and ordered to pay costs of £85 and a victim surcharge of £30.
Hunt owns his own property management company, Blonde Limited, which lets out luxury properties in west London.
His father Jon founded Foxtons in 1981 before selling it for £375 million shortly before the financial crash in May 2007. The 64-year-old was himself banned from the road for nine months last year after admitting four separate speeding offences in an eight-month period.