Kindly note that E-SCOOTERS are not allowed on the school site and should not be used as transport to or from school.

Marcus Kennedy - Acting Chief Inspector, Portsmouth NPT - has asked schools to share the following message with families:

Privately owned E-SCOOTERS are illegal and the expectation is that they should not be used to transport, to and from their educational settings.

Electric scooters are becoming a more frequent occurrence in the area with a number of government trials running in the force area to pilot the use of rental e-scooters, but there remains a lot of confusion from the public on the legislation around them.

E-scooters are classed as a motor vehicle and so the use of them falls under the Road Traffic Act 1988. As private e-scooters cannot be insured, taxed or registered, as motor vehicles need to be, they can only be used on private land, with the permission of the landowner. 

Rental e-scooters as part of the government trials can be used on public roads but not on pavements.

How are we policing e-scooters?

Most of the public are unaware of the legislation around e-scooters and so we have decided to employ the successful strategy of: Engage, Educate, Enforce. If someone is stopped using a private e-scooter in a public place for the first time, they should be given a written warning.

If the same person is stopped for a second time, the e-scooter can be seized under s165 for no insurance and the rider reported for summons to attend court where they could received points on their license (even if they don’t have one) and a significant fine.  

What are the rules around rental e-scooters?

Riders can legally use rental e-scooters on the road (except motorways) and in cycle lanes.  The hired e-scooters are still not allowed to be used on the pavement.

The rules surrounding the use of rental e-scooters include:

E-scooters should only be used within the local area hosting the trial

• ·E-scooters should be used by one person at a time.
• ·Drink or drug driving laws still apply to those using e-scooters, as does careless and dangerous driving offences

Hire companies will fully explain the use and limitations to the user of the e-scooter at the time of hire.