A 57-year-old man appeared in court accused of illegally riding an E-scooter on a public footpath.
Robert Love is alleged to have driven the £900 electric scooter in a city centre street shortly after having it delivered to him.
Love appeared at Perth’s Justice of the Peace Court to face four separate charges relating to his use of the scooter in Perth on July 24 this year.
He is alleged to have driven an unregistered vehicle – namely an E-scooter – when he did not have a licence authorising him to drive that type of vehicle.
Love is also alleged to have driven “on to or upon a footpath” on the High Street at its junction with Caledonian Road and used the vehicle without insurance.
It is further alleged that he rode the E-scooter without wearing a helmet.
‘Seek legal advice’
Love, from Scone, told the court: “I understand the charges but I am not 100% sure what they mean.”
He asked for the case to be continued without plea so he could take legal advice.
JP Paul Walker said: “I haven’t come across an E-scooter case myself. Given that you are not clear about it, what I am suggesting is that we continue the case without plea and you can seek legal advice.”
Alleged ride on Dunkeld Road
A similar case then called against a second man – Hugh Hunter – and a not guilty plea to a total of five E-scooter related charges was entered on his behalf.
Hunter, 37, from Perth, denies driving an E-scooter on the city’s Dunkeld Road without an appropriate licence on April 28 this year.
He also denies not having a helmet, insurance or a valid test certificate for the vehicle. He also denies driving “on or onto a footpath, bridleway or restricted byway”.
He will face trial at the JP court at a later date.
Illegal in public places
Although E-scooters can be legally purchased in Scotland, it is still illegal to ride them in public places across the UK. There are some exceptions for trial schemes in England, but in those cases e-scooters must only be used on roads and cycle lanes.
E-scooters are recognised in law as “Personal Light Electric Vehicles” so they fall under the same laws and regulations as motor vehicles. They are subject to all the same legal requirements under the Road Traffic Act 1988 as cars, so require an MOT, tax and insurance.
In July of this year, the UK Government introduced legislation trialling the use of e-scooters, through local authorities, for a period of 12 months via approved rental companies. There are currently no such rental schemes operating in Scotland and private use of e-scooters in a public place is not legal.
