The serious illegal e-Scooter situation

Superfast illegal e-bikes and e-scooters are becoming more of a problem in the summer months. So, it was great to accompany officers on a big operation last week in the centre of Gloucester to tackle this growing menace.

We swamped the City Centre with officers, stopped and confiscated every illegal scooter and examined suspicious bikes, seizing any that turned out to be illegal.

This is not a trivial problem, is a flagrant breech of the law, is often associated with serious anti-social behaviours, including drug dealing and criminal activity, and can lead to serious injuries and even deaths. Modified illegal e-bikes with extra batteries are particularly dangerous, as they are extremely heavy.

Legal e-scooters are coral coloured and operate only in the centre of Gloucester and Cheltenham, as part of a long running Government trial. They can only be used on roads, with one passenger, and the rider must follow the normal rules of the road.  They must not be used on pavements or with two riders.

Illegal e-scooters can sadly be bought legitimately on the internet or in shops, but can only legally be used on private land with the permission of the land owner. So all the black e-scooters you see on our pavements, roads and paved shopping areas are illegal.

We seized all the illegal ones we saw and explained the law to their riders – some knew they were in the wrong, others did not. Either way, it will be an expensive lesson for them, as many of these scooters cost £100s.

The e-bike situation is more complicated. Anything powered by an engine over 250 watts is illegal, but so is any bike that has been modified and can travel faster than 3.7 mph without using the pedals. 15.5 mph is the fastest legal e-bikes can travel, so anyone travelling at great speed on these bikes is definitely on an illegal bike. We seized all failing this test, often food delivery riders, but also youths.

In one afternoon, over 30 illegal e-scooters and e-bikes were seized and they will all be destroyed. More operations like this are planned, including in Cheltenham.  Repeat and/or intoxicated offenders also run the risk of arrest, fines and points on their licence. I ask you the public: please continue to report any illegal use to the police, so our next big operation is well targeted. We all have a right to enjoy the sun without fear from these superfast e-bikes and scooters.