CPS has confirmed that it is illegal to use self-balancing scooters on pavements or roads.

Hoverboards Made Illegal 

Hoverboards, known otherwise as self-balancing scooters have been confirmed by the Crown Prosecution Service as being illegal to use on public pavements and roads in the UK. According to legislation, the devices are too dangerous to be used either on pavements or roads. As a consequence they can only be legally used on private property, and even then it’s only with the landowner’s permission. When used on private property, the Department for Transport recommends that safety gear should be worn at all times.

Hoverboard Ban in the UK 

The hoverboards are illegal to be used on the roads because they do not meet specifications required to be deemed road worthy under either the British or European schemes. Using them on public pavements and roads would violate section 72 of the Highway Act 1835 in England and Wales and section 129(5) of the Roads Act 1984 in Scotland.

Other electronically powered gadgets, such as electric bicycles, are still permitted to use cycle tracks on the road and away from the road, as they meet the requirements of the Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycles Regulations 1983.  

Despite the confirmation from the CPS, makers of hoverboards believe that sales will only go from strength to strength, and indeed, it looks as though sales are not slowing down. Simon Benson of Ghetto Gadgets told The Guardian “If the authorities give any impression that the use of hoverboards in some circumstances is unlawful, then I expect sales to soar.

“Clearly customers need to take advice, but millennials 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”.

It will be interesting to see whether the sale of hoverboards will continue to soar following the recent developments and limited number of places they can be used.