Alison Hernandez: the e-scooter law many Cornwall riders miss

Bought an e-scooter for yourself or your teenager this summer? There’s a good chance you’ve also bought them an offence, because riding a privately owned one anywhere outside your own driveway is against the law, wherever you live in Cornwall.

Why police are cracking down

Devon & Cornwall Police has been running targeted enforcement operations against dangerous and antisocial riding, and the results of one recent sweep show why. Operation Hyssop, carried out in Plymouth, saw officers seize seven illegally modified e-bikes, including one capable of speeds of up to 80mph, along with five mopeds being ridden antisocially or without insurance. Two stolen vehicles were recovered and five people were arrested, for offences including theft, driving while disqualified and drink or drug driving.

Similar operations have already taken place closer to home, in Falmouth, Camborne and St Austell, as well as in Exeter and Torquay, in direct response to concerns raised by residents.

Writing in her latest blog for the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner, Alison Hernandez said she regularly hears from people about noisy vehicles disrupting neighbourhoods late at night, riders speeding along pavements, and dangerous behaviour on the roads. She said these incidents have a real impact on how safe people feel in their own communities.

What the law actually says about e-scooters

This is the part that catches most people out. A privately owned e-scooter cannot legally be ridden on a public road, in a cycle lane, on a pavement or in any other public place, full stop. The only place it can go is private land, and only with the landowner’s permission.

The single exception is a rental e-scooter operating as part of an approved government trial, such as the scheme recently added alongside the existing Beryl e-bike hire in Plymouth. Buy your own from a shop or online and it makes no difference how it’s described or sold. Taking it out on the street is illegal.

E-bikes are a different story, and a legal one, provided they meet the legal requirements for power and speed. The problems start when a bike has been modified to go faster than it should, or when it’s ridden in a way that puts other people at risk.

The risk isn’t only to pedestrians

Alison was clear that a vehicle being smaller than a car doesn’t make a collision any less serious, and a rider going fast without proper safety equipment is putting themselves at real risk as well as everyone around them. Older people, families with young children and those with mobility issues are the groups most likely to feel intimidated by a scooter or bike coming past too fast on a pavement.

Parents buying an electric vehicle for a young person are being encouraged to check the rules first. Being able to buy something doesn’t mean it can legally be ridden on a road or pavement, and the distinctions between a legal e-bike, a private e-scooter, a modified electric vehicle and an electric motorcycle aren’t always obvious from the shop shelf.

What to do if you see it happening

Reports from residents are what help police identify hotspots and decide where to send patrols, so seeing something and saying nothing doesn’t help anyone. In an emergency, call 999. For anything else, Devon & Cornwall Police has a dedicated antisocial behaviour reporting form online, or people who can’t get online can call 101 instead.

Anyone wanting to understand the rules before buying an e-bike or e-scooter can also check the guidance on Vision Zero South West, the road safety partnership referenced in the force’s own crackdown on illegal riding.

“Everyone deserves to feel safe in their neighbourhood,” Alison wrote, adding that education alongside enforcement is what will keep roads, pavements and public spaces welcoming for everyone. Whether that message reaches the small minority causing the problem is, as ever, the part no operation can guarantee on its own.

📷Credit: Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon and Cornwall