Motorway e-scooter rider banned

A DRINK driver who was caught riding on an e-scooter on a dark M5 by police officers was told it was “not the most sensible thing you have ever done in your life”.

Avon and Somerset Police’s Control Room received numerous reports of a man riding an e-scooter on the hard shoulder of the motorway northbound between Junction 25 for Taunton and Junction 24 for Bridgwater at around 3am on December 29.

Prosecutor Samantha Barley told Taunton Magistrates’ Court how officers caught Jamal Rabeh riding the e-scooter in dark clothing on an unlit section of the M5 in “poor” weather conditions.

Rabeh underwent a roadside breathalyser test and gave a reading of 71 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35 microgrammes.

Ms Barley said that Rabeh only held a provisional driving licence and had no insurance.

Rabeh, 29, of Stanley Close, Staplegrove, Taunton, was arrested and charged with driving while under the influence of alcohol, driving without insurance and being a learner driver on a motorway.

Rabeh pleaded guilty to the charges.

Sally Donaldson, defending, said that Rabeh originally intended to use the e-scooter to travel to work in Taunton and had been working as a bartender at the time of the incident.

Chair of the Magistrates’

Bench, Dr Peter Reed, said: “This is not the most sensible thing you have ever done in your life. Driving an e-scooter on the motorway is not only going to be dangerous to you but dangerous to the general public.”

Rabeh was banned from driving for 20 months and ordered to pay fines of £320, a £128 surcharge and court costs of £85.