E-bikes and E scooter - Rules

Dear Residents, 

Electric bikes and E-scooters -  Rules 

Shrewsbury Rural West are having reports of persons using e- scooters and suspected illegal electric bikes on the roads and pavements in the area. 

Please see the attached about the legislation around these modes of transport -  

When riding bikes or scooters please remember to wear a helmet.

Electric bikes - You can ride an electric bike, or an 'electrically assisted pedal cycle' (EAPC), without a license or insurance if you're 14 or over.

An electric bike:

If your electric bike fails to meet any of these requirements it needs to be taxed and insured as either a motorcycle or a moped.

There is more information on what's required to ride your electric bike legally on GOV.UK.

Electrical scooters (also known as e-scooters) -  Come under the category of 'powered transporters'. This covers a range of personal transport devices that are powered by a motor.

This means the rules that apply to motor vehicles, also apply to e-scooters including the need to have a licence and insurance.

There are two ways of using an e-scooter:

Owning your own e-scooter - 

It's not currently possible to get insurance for privately owned e-scooters. This means it’s illegal to use them on the road or in public spaces, such as parks, street pavements, and shopping centres 

If you use a privately-owned e-scooter in public, you risk the vehicle being seized under S.165 Road Traffic Act 1988 for having no insurance. 

If you cause serious harm to another person whilst riding an e-scooter/e-motorbike, the incident will be investigated in the same way it would if you were riding a motorcycle or driving a car. 

If you own an e-scooter, you can only use it in on private land, such as in a garden. But you must have the permission of the landowner to do so.

Penalties and offences for e-scooters

If you breach the rules when using an e-scooter/e-motorbike you could face a fixed penalty notice, the seizure of your e-scooter/e-motorbike and its disposal.

Forces set and enforce penalties differently, so the penalty will vary depending on where the offence is committed.

If you're using an e-scooter/e-motorbike in public in an antisocial manner, you can also risk the e-scooter/e-motorbike being seized under section 59 of the Police Reform Act.

Useful link -Road Traffic Act 1988. 

 Regards,

Shrewsbury Rural West SNT Team