Misuse of electric scooters and electric bikes

Dear Resident,

On Friday 22nd May 2026 West Yorkshire Police conducted a joint operation with Wakefield Council Community Safety Partnership to tackle the misuse of electric scooters and electric bikes on public roads and spaces.

Police officers from the Neighbourhood and Off-Road Bike Teams conducted dedicated patrols in the Central North ward area, stopping and speaking with riders of e-scooters and other electric vehicles, explaining the current legislation around their usage on public roads and spaces, offering safety advice, and educating the riders about their future use.

The use of E-scooters has become increasingly normalised, and many people, through these social norms or misunderstanding of the law, incorrectly believe that privately owned E-scooters can be used as everyday personal transport.

While it is legal to purchase an E‑scooter, it is illegal to ride a privately owned E‑scooter on public roads, pavements, cycle lanes, or public land unless the rider complies with several strict legal requirements. E‑scooters are classified as ‘powered transporters’, which places them within the legal definition of a motor vehicle. As a result, riders would need to meet the same legal obligations required for cars or motorbikes including valid insurance, MOT, road tax, and vehicle registration.

The scooter pictured below next to the police van was seized just off Silcoates Street as the rider had been warned previously about riding it on a public road.  

West Yorkshire Police remain committed to tackling all forms illegal and anti-social vehicular use. Where riders continue to use an E‑scooter after a prior warning, or where the E-scooter is used dangerously, poses a clear safety risk, or forms part of wider offending then immediate enforcement action will be taken, including the seizure of the vehicle and the prosecution of the rider.

For more information about how these vehicles can be used legally visit www.gov.uk/electric-scooter-rules or  www.gov.uk/electric-bike-rules