Self Balancing scooters may not be accepted everywhere after all. In England, the CPS (Crown Prosecutor Service) declares that self balancing scooters, or what many calls hoverboard on 2 wheels are not permitted to be ridden on the public streets and roads.
The 2 wheel self-balanced boards have become the hot Christmas gift last holidays. It actually made the headlines with rgards to “hoverboards” catching on fire or even exploding. The device was also featured on many talkshows, where people are taking nasty falls by losing their balance while the hoverboard is moving. It was also seen by many celebrities riding them like Justin Bieber or rapper Whiz Khalifa. In Britain, the popularity of these two-wheels board is not a factor.
An upgraded model and style from the ancestor Segway one wheel electrical personal transportation device, the self balancing scooters can reach 12 mph on some models. According to a legislation, the self balancing scooters are dangerous to ride on public road and even more dangerous to ride where there is pavement. What does this mean for the self balancing scooter user? He can only use it or ride it on a private property or on land. Furthermore this private property must give the full permission to the user to ride it on his/her property.
The story stems from the guidance which originated when Segway scooters first came out. CPS specify that self balancing scooters are “powered vehicles” and that they are illegal to ride on the pavement under section 72 of the Highway Act 1835. In Scotland, where the act does not apply, they are still illegal to ride on the pavement under the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984.
One other reason for 2 wheel balancing boards to be illegal is the fact that they don’t meet the requirements to be registered under either the European or British schemes for road-legal vehicles. On Sunday, police reminded users of the law despite being in effect for a few years already with the old Segway guidance due the increased popularity of the so-called “hoverboard on wheels”.
“If the authorities give any impression that the use of hoverboards in some circumstances is unlawful, then I expect sales to soar, declared Benson to the Guardian.
He added this point with regards to the age of the guidance CPS is using to make it law. “Clearly customers need to take advice, but millennial are not going to take kindly to the authorities using a law that pre-dates the penny-farthing to tell them what they can or can’t do on the streets of Britain”.
With the name “hoverboard” often assigned to the self balancing scooters, these boards stay on the ground with two wheels and don’t hover like you have seen before by Marty McFly in Back to the Future movies.
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