Christmas is coming - Please make the right choices for gifts

Christmas is coming - Please make the right choices for gifts

E-Scooters have become the hot topic for Police Forces up and down the country, and a huge social media debate. They are motorised vehicles, and as such require to be registered with the DVLA and for the owners and riders to hold a V5, a licence, insurance and road-worthiness certificates. However, it is impossible to obtain these things for an e-scooter.

They are illegal for road use, with a few exceptions in cities where local County Councils have elected to make them available to rent. However, in these cases, the Councils hold insurance for their use, the vehicles are specially registered, and in some cases a licence must be produced to ride one. Hull and the towns and villages within the East Riding of Yorkshire do not subscribe to one of these experimental initiatives, and so use of e-scooters is restricted to private land, and not the public highway or public spaces.

There are two ways in which Police will deal with illegal use of these vehicles:

Seizure under Section 59 of the Police Reform Act, 2002 for careless and inconsiderate riding or anti-social use on, and off road.

Seizure under Section 165 of the Road Traffic Act, 1988. This carries with it the penalty of 6 points and a £300 fine for no insurance, potentially more points and fines for no licence, and in the case of youngsters a huge barrier later in life when they wish to apply for a legitimate licence. Furthermore, the parent or guardian who purchased the item, then knowingly let the uninsured person ride, is liable for permitting an uninsured party to use the vehicle on the Highway and is also liable for a £300 fine and 6 points on their licence.

Almost daily evidence up and down the country shows that these machines are dangerous and their use endangers lives: both hapless pedestrians mown down or the riders themselves who are particularly vulnerable.

Today, when a young boy rode his into oncoming rush hour traffic on the one way system in Hedon, he was gobsmacked to find out that he would not be riding it home. Fortunately for him, this was because a Police Officer managed to get him stopped and seized the machine, rather than the potential tragic outcome.

Please, we beg you, think hard when buying this year's Christmas presents. The best case scenario is that you will lose a lot of your hard-earned cash when it is seized. The worst case scenario is unthinkable.

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Message Sent By
Jonathan D-Davies
(Police, Special Sgt, Holderness)

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