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Following a number of reports of young people causing ASB and riding recklessly on the area on mechanically propelled vehicles, SNT seized a motorcycle being ridden dangerously on the roads and footpaths on Broadwaters on 23/03/2026. Given that many of the riders we have stopped claim to have no knowledge of the rules around their use, and many of the people reporting them sometimes need clarity, the legal guidance on these different types of of bikes and scooters can be read below. Motorcycles like any vehicle require tax, insurance and at a minimum, a provisionally held licence (or full unrestricted, depending on the engine capacity) to be used on public highways. The Government continues to trial the use of E-Scooters in specific designated urban areas around the UK, but they require a provisional licence, and insurance (achieved via an indemnity clause people complete when they lease the use of one in the approved trial areas), which you cannot obtain outside the approved trial towns and cities they are in use. For this reason, personal E-Scooters, frequently bought by parents for their children are for use on PRIVATE land only. They cannot be used on public highways (this includes roads and footpaths) and as such can be seized by police under S165 of the Road Traffic Act if used in this manner, just like any other unlicenced and uninsured vehicle. EAPC's (electrically assisted pedal cycles), provided they are fitted with pedals to help propel it, have a maximum speed below 15.5mph and have an electric motor power not exceeding 250 watts do NOT require registration, insurance and tax and may be ridden by persons as long as they are OVER the age of 14. If they exceed the above thresholds, in speed and power, they are treated like a motorvehicle under the Road Traffic Regulation Act (1984) and the Road Traffic Act (1988), therefore requiring a licence, tax, registration and insurance as you would with a moped or any other motorbike. |