e-scooters - know the law

Although e-scooters can be great fun, it’s against the law to ride one on a public road, cycle lane or pavement.

What you need to know

e-scooters are classed as Personal Light Electric Vehicles (PLEVs), which means t­hey are treated as motor vehicles and subject to the same legal requirements, such as driving licence, insurance, number plates, lighting, road tax, crash helmets etc. Without these, e-scooters cannot be used legally on the road.

The Government is currently trialling the use of approved rental e-scooters as environmentally friendly modes of transport in some specific locations in the UK.

For the rest of the country, under current law, e-scooters can only be used on private land.

What should I do now?

It’s our priority to keep pedestrians and all road users safe.

We are obliged to take action against anyone who is caught repeatedly using an e-scooter illegally or in a way that causes a nuisance to others. In these circumstances we have the power to seize the e-scooter under Section 59 of the Police Reform Act/165 of the Road Traffic Act – and we’d really prefer not to.

Without the above criteria in place, please do not to use an e-scooter on a road, cycle lane or pavement. Please make sure you only use an e-scooter on private land.

For more information about powered transporters and the law, visit www.gov.uk