Officers from Hampshire Constabulary’s Roads Policing Unit have carried out an operation focused on e-scooters over the last 3 days, including here on the Isle of Wight.
During the operation, the team have been engaging with riders of e-scooters in Ryde, Newport, Portsmouth and Southampton, ensuring they are being appropriately used.
Currently, only the rental ones are legally allowed to be used, with private ones only able to be used on private land and with the owner’s permission.
On Wednesday, the team spent time in Ryde and Newport, speaking with 3 riders, as well as speaking with local residents at Morrison’s supermarket about road safety and community issues.
On Tuesday, officers were on Shirley High Street and Portswood Road, Southampton and spoke with 11 riders, with 9 warning letters issued to private users. Today (Friday), 14 riders were spoken with, with each receiving a warning letter.
Over the 3 days, the team also dealt with a number of other motoring issues. These included incidents where seat belts were not being worn, mobile phones being used, parking on a pedestrian crossing and number plate offences.
Sergeant Dave Hazlett, of the Road Safety Unit, said:
“During the three days, we have been out engaging with riders of e-scooters, and raising the awareness that privately owned e-scooters cannot be used on public roads or on pathways.
Article continues below this advertisement “We appreciate that people are often trying to use them as part of a more economical and sustainable form of transport, however, they are still classed as a motor vehicle and cannot used on the roads as the law currently stands.
“If a person is seen using one illegally, then they do receive a formal warning. If they are seen again, then they can be issued with a fine, receive points on their licence and have the scooter seized.
“Increasingly, we are also seeing e-scooters being used to facilitate other criminality as well, and we want to ensure we are able to protect our communities.”
And everyone got let off with a warning? It’s about time people on the Island are made to understand, the rules and laws of the road do apply here. Yes, they really do.
Yes, but, if they are seen again (which is unlikely as the police have told everyone that they’ve finished their operation now), then they can be issued with a fine (also unlikely), receive points on their licence (a licence which they don’t have) and have the scooter seized (a scooter which they don’t own). That’ll teach ’em.
And how many were between 45-64 years old as the Company reckons that’s the age group of their users.
Praying that they make it legal to ride an owned escooter in public soon. They are so much better for the environment, have safer speeds & will be way cheaper for people in the long run with these fuel prices going up!
That won’t happen while the council have control and getting paid from people to use the ugly green ones
I still don’t get why an electric bike is not subject to draconian laws yet an electric scooter is.
Good point. Also I’ve seen a few young lads on bicycles with homemade motors attached going like the clappers. Any sort of motorised personal vehicle should be classed same imo.
You do know that you can peddle faster on a bike than a ebike can go dont you ?????
not true – an e-bike can be pedaled at say 35 miles/h and down Cowleys (Cowleaze) will easily exceed 40
not true i have both electric and peddle bikes electric bikes in the uk are limited to 15.5 mph and 250w a standard push bike is not limited so if who ever is hitting 40mph on a ebike must have a much higher kw as a 1500w struggles to hit 40mph
Are you going to ride these dangerous things on the pavement or the road?
We might be safer walking in the road
Great news RideSmart. I hear there’s already a two-wheel means of transport which is really really good for the environment and goes at safer speeds than cars. It’s called a bicycle. Incidentally, e-scooters have been tinkered with after- market and can easily be souped up to speeds of well over 30 mph. How safe does that sound on such tiny wheels?
It’s ok kids, you can get back on the e-scooters again, the police have finished their 3 day operation.
I hope they used ‘stingers’ to stop them in the same way that you reported they’d used them to stop an elderly lady driver for being too slow…..but still faster than a Beryl scooter.
These Scooters are a Health and Safety Hazard.
Buts let face it Health and Safety does not happen on the Island.
Unknown why they did not just sit down on Moncton Street in Ryde, by East Street… usually many illegal riders there going to the shop for booze and ciggies… be a good job for the unmarked police car that everyone knows…oh and also on Well St too… and whilst at it have a word with that chap that rides that noisy motorbike.. like why would one accelerate hard down Well St, when there are speed bumps….. Good way to wear out the brakes I guess…
I wasnt aware mere children held provisional driving licences to be allowed to use the beryl scooters.
The idiots risking their lives on riverway industrial estate the other day shouldn’t have been allowed near any form of wheeled transport!
I blame them, and their parents especially.
Blah blah blah escooters are evil burn them with fire!, pitchfork em! Ban anything electric and modern! Usual uninformed tosh from the usual village idiots on here…
Pull your head out of where the sun dosent shine. Very soon there will be a death, an avoidable death. Someone’s son or daughter, then there is the driver that is involved, they will have the trauma of that event as a life sentence, this is not apportioning blame to any partie, just a statement of fact, if you’re happy with the consequences for all involved and still think these recklessly and illegally used scooters are a good idea then that’s up to you, most adults with more than a solitary brain cell see the problem.
How can a machine whose wheels are smaller than the potholes in the road, be safe?
Just seen a report of a FOI request, there have been over 1,000 complaints to the council about these things.
Wonders why i haven’t seen anything about it here or on any island media?
if there have only been 1000 complaints from this bitter sour backwards uneducated killjoy island then Beryl are obviously doing something right. Fair play to them.