Wales On Sunday

POINTS ON HIS DRIVING LICENCE FOR RIDING ELECTRIC UNICYCLE!

- JAMES MCCARTHY Reporter james.mccarthy@walesonlin­e.co.uk

ATAKEAWAY boss has been fined £180 and received six points on his licence – for riding an electric unicycle without insurance. Kamrul Islam, 46, said he was delivering menus in Tyntyla Road in Ystrad, Rhondda, when he fell while riding his electric AirWheel Q3 on the pavement.

He said after a dispute with a motorist, police arrived and he was taken to court.

The dad-of-one said he was content to pay a £180 fine after pleading guilty to using a motor vehicle without insurance.

But speaking about the points on his licence, he said: “In the last 20 years or more I have had no conviction­s and nothing on my licence. “Anyone with common sense will look at this and think it’s not right.” Kamrul claimed he could not buy motor insurance for the unicycle because it has no number plate. He said: “They charged me for not having insurance but you cannot even get insurance. You can’t get motor insurance if you do not have a number plate.” He said he is now considerin­g appealing. “No one ever gave me any clue that it was illegal. Not even when I was riding on a footpath was anyone bothered,” he said. He said he did not want to criticise the magistrate­s personally. “But I would say what happened to me was an injustice,” he said. The £850 unicycle was seized by cops for destructio­n. Kamrul said: “The police said if I did not provide proof of insurance then they would dismantle it.” According to the Crown Prosecutio­n Service, it is “a matter of fact and degree for a court to interpret as to whether or not a vehicle is a motor vehicle at the time of the incident”.

Their website says it is an offence to ride a “self-balancing scooter” – such as a Segway, hoverboard or single-wheel electric skateboard – on the pavement.

The Road Traffic Act 1988 states: “A person must not use a motor vehicle on a road or other public place unless there is in force in relation to the use of that vehicle by that person a policy of insurance.”

And the manufactur­er warns customers “to check the rules and regulation­s of transporta­tion devices of their country.”

Merthyr Tydfil Magistrate­s’ Court confirmed Mr Islam had been fined £180 and given six penalty points on his licence for “using a motor vehicle, namely a unicycle AirWheel, without insurance”.

South Wales Police were not available for comment.

 ??  ?? An AirWheel Q3 similar to the one Kamrul was riding
An AirWheel Q3 similar to the one Kamrul was riding
 ??  ?? Kamrul Islam on his electric unicycle
Kamrul Islam on his electric unicycle

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United Kingdom