Met Police put the brakes on ‘hoverboards’ craze with pavement ban
Disappointed “hoverboard” owners have been told they can no longer levitate down Britain’s streets after police ruled that the scooters are too dangerous to be ridden on roads and pavements.
Boosted by endorsements from sport stars and rappers, hoverboards – or self-balancing scooters – have become the latest street craze, letting users willing to pay more than £250 live out their Back to the Future fantasies.
Demonstrated by Justin Bieber, Brooklyn Beckham, and a number of Premier League footballers, the twowheel scooters, a hands-free update of Segway vehicles, give riders the impression that they are skimming over paths and streets.
However, ahead of an expected Christmas surge in hoverboard sales, the Metropolitan Police has confirmed that it is illegal to ride the scooters in public.
Citing section 72 of the Highway Act 1835, police said that the vehicles do not meet the legal requirement to be safely used in traffic. Hoverboards must adhere to the same restrictions that apply to Segways under UK law.
The Met said: “It’s because they’re technically motor vehicles and therefore have to be registered, licensed and insured to ride on public roads,” as further explanation.
Like Segways, hoverboards cannot be ridden on roads as they are not licensed vehicles. Hoverboards are banned from the pavement in Scotland under the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984.
Police publicised the guidance after the battery-charged hoverboards became a target for thieves. A man was knocked off his £300 machine in north London last month and his vehicle was stolen. In other high-profile incidents, the rapper Wiz Khalifa was handcuffed at Los Angeles airport when he refused to dismount from his scooter and footage of a pilgrim in Mecca riding one of the scooters became a viral hit.
The Appliances Direct store, which sells the £250 G- Board self- balancing scooter, said interest in the vehicle had been enhanced after a “demo day” on Saturday that let the curious try out the board. The board has a top speed of 10mph and can go 10 miles on a single charge.
China is preparing to export thousands of hoverboards to the UK to satisfy an expected Christmas rush of orders. The police “ban” is only likely to increase demand for the vehicles, which can still be used in private homes and gardens.
In a series of tweets, the police added: “These scooters are not covered by exemptions given to mobility vehicles. We haven’t ‘banned’ them, the legislation already existed.” Hoverboarders who flout the law can expect fines with costs of up to £300.
In May, the Canadian inventor Catalin Alexandru Duru set a Guinness world record by travelling 275.9 metres at heights of up to five metres over a lake on a propeller-based hoverboard of his own design and construction. The hoverboard was first portrayed as a levitating board used in the films Back to the Future Part II and Back to the Future Part III.
LEGAL STATUS
Unpowered scooters and skateboards cannot legally be used on pavements, footpaths or cycle tracks as they have no right of way. Local bye-laws can be created banning them.
Segways are banned from both roads, pavements or cycle tracks so the only place where they can be ridden legally is on private land, with the owner’s consent.
Cyclists are not allowed to cycle on pavements.
Rules concerning roller skates are not clear. It has yet to be established in British case law whether these are legally classed as vehicles or not.