Police in the north east of Scotland are urging parents to stop their children riding e-scooters illegally as campaigners say their use is “rampant”.
Under the current law, e-scooters can only be legally used on private land and can be seized by police if used in public places, says the BBC.
In a recent incident, two youths – one of whom was not wearing a helmet – were captured riding along a dual carriageway in Aberdeen. The Scottish and UK governments said action was being taken to tackle the issue.
Police Scotland North East issued the warning to parents as part of Operation Armour, a two-week crackdown on both e-scooters and e-motorbikes.
Sgt Mark Rennie said:
“The legislation surrounding e-scooter use exists to protect the public and is especially important because younger children do not yet have the judgement, coordination, or hazard awareness these devices require. This isn’t about being strict or unfair – it’s about understanding the risk.”
Parents face a fine or points on their licence if their children ride them illegally.
Young people can also receive penalty points on what’s known as a “ghost licence”, which are added to any provisional driving licence they might later apply for.
The UK transport charity Collaborative Mobility has called for the creation of more rental e-scooter zones in public places. They currently only operate in parts of England.
The charity’s chief executive Richard Dilks said that in these zones it was clear where the e-scooters could be used, and their top speed and acceleration rates were capped.
He said that outside these zones there was a “rampant scene of illegal use”.
“It’s effectively unenforceable, which is not to say there shouldn’t be crackdowns – it is the current law – but it just doesn’t work.
“We’ve got this wild west of illegally used illegal devices which are used at scale despite them not being legal, and not lawful to use on public highways.
“So it’s the worst of all worlds in a way.”
He said the contradiction – where is it not illegal to buy or sell an e-scooter, but illegal to use one on a public highway – needed to be resolved.
(Picture: Yay Images)
