Police reminder about e-scooters
MANY of you may be unwrapping a new e-scooter this Christmas, but Dyfed-Powys Police is reminding the public that these privately owned vehicles are illegal to ride on public roads, pavements, parks and cycle paths.
Anyone caught doing so risks being issued with a £300 fine, six penalty points on their driving licence and having the e-scooter seized.
E-scooters can only be used on private land with the permission of the landowner.
Dyfed-Powys Police has teamed up with Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire, Powys and Ceredigion councils as well as Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service to send a message ahead of Christmas, when many may be thinking about buying the scooters as gifts.
In the past year, there has been an explosion in the use of e-scooters, with many using them to commute.
The e-scooter is defined as “powered transporters” by the UK Government and because of the way they are motorised and designed, they fall within the legal definition of a motor vehicle.
Chief inspector Thomas Sharville at Dyfed-Powys Police’s specialist operations department, said: “I would remind anyone considering purchasing an e-scooter as a Christmas gift that it is illegal to use a privately owned e-scooter on public roads, pavements or cycle paths.
“Their speed and silence can pose a significant danger to other road users and pedestrian safety, especially vulnerable pedestrians, please consider a more suitable, and safer, gift for your loved ones. Retailers may be happy to sell one to you but it could be seized the moment you attempt to use it in a public place.”
Additionally, for any driver or motorcyclist that has passed their driving test in the past two years it could result in a driving disqualification and the need to re-take both the theory and practical driving test.
While trials of rental e-scooters are taking place in some parts of England, they should only be used within the local area hosting the trial, say police.
The Department for Transport has said there were 57 pedestrians, 383 riders and 21 cyclists injured in e-scooter crashes in 2020.