Electric Scooters

[RumPunch]

Having heard of a recent prosecution for no insurance, I just looked up the rules over these increasingly popular devices and was quite surprised.

Unless the scooter is from a hire company you must have insurance and can only use it on private land AND all users must hold a Q rating on a full or provisional licence

I'll bet " not a lot of people know that "

[Smoggy]

So if you put pedals on would it be fine, even if the pedals are hardly useable?

Wouldn't be a scooter anymore.

[TheQ]

I would add even the hire scooters are not allowed on the pavements, they must be used on on the road hence the licence requirements.

Also the scooters are only allowed in certain towns and cities as it's a trial, Norwich is one and I believe GY is to join in soon..

Current electric Bicycles must be fitted so they cannot proceed unless your are pedaling with some pressure . (some of the older ones didn't have that.)

[CambridgeCabby]

1 hour ago, Smoggy said:

So if you put pedals on would it be fine, even if the pedals are hardly useable?

Wouldn't be a scooter anymore.

When I was 16 I had a Fantic Caballero GT moped , the law then was that it had to be a maximum of 50cc and have the ability to be propelled by pedals to be legal for a 16 year old , he pedals were so small that I would dispute anyone of normal stature could use them but it was legal , and capable of 70mph !!!

[Smoggy]

Was that like the old FS1E's where the pedals could be flipped round and locked as regular footpegs?

[CambridgeCabby]

Mine used to be blue but same as this 

[OldBerkshireBoy]

Has anybody seen the high prices of these old mopeds now. Some are selling for serious money.

[ChrisB]

I rather fancy one of the retro electric bicycles. But they don't come cheap. There are quite a few out there but this is the one I like.

Forget the lycra...!.....cavalry twill trousers, tattershall shirt, Harris tweed jacket and retro leather covered safety helmet.

 

[CambridgeCabby]

1 hour ago, OldBerkshireBoy said:

Has anybody seen the high prices of these old mopeds now. Some are selling for serious money.

The one I pictured sold for over £6k

[CambridgeCabby]

Going back to the OP’s original subject, I find it incredible that there is no requirement for third party insurance for electric bikes or indeed mobility scooters where such a requirement exists for electric scooters , I know new regulations were drafted ,very quickly, to bring in new legislation to cover these electric scooters  but fail to understand why the new legislation did not cover ALL electrically propelled vehicles .

[chrisdobson45]

5 hours ago, TheQ said:

I would add even the hire scooters are not allowed on the pavements, they must be used on on the road hence the licence requirements.

Also the scooters are only allowed in certain towns and cities as it's a trial, Norwich is one and I believe GY is to join in soon..

Current electric Bicycles must be fitted so they cannot proceed unless your are pedaling with some pressure . (some of the older ones didn't have that.)

Nottingham is another city trialling electric scooters, they're to be found abandoned just about everywhere, either out of charge or at the edge of the operating area. Lots of comment / complaint in the local papers and there's been the first prosecution of a young man riding whilst under the influence. 

As most of the city centre is pedestrianised, its inevitable that there will be some scooter / pedestrian interaction, and not all has been positive....

[grendel]

Canterbury too has its share of hire scooters, but you also see young kids riding them everywhere (the non hire ones that is). what I struggle to see is that if its legal to hire and use one, then how come its not legal to use one you own (providing all the other stipulations are adhered to,) actually the issue is that they are nort legal on the pavement, and they are not yet classed as legal on the road, and they are also not allowed to use cycle patrhs, so where are you supposed to use them?

I looked into electric bikes, and a lot have quite a low maximum weight limit, I found just one that would accept my weight, and that was a trike.

A friend got a bike about 6 months ago, and it has let him down more times than not, he is on his second set of brakes, and one of the pedals broke too. electric bikes are legal because they fall under the same laws as pushbikes, but the scooters fall in a loophole, if they had seats, they could be classed as disabled scooters, and would be covered. as they would with a third wheel.

I think that maybe some people will fit a sidecar like the ones they bought out to make larger bikes legal about 20 years back, when they bought out the learner restriction to 125's