STOPPED by Police in London ! Worst case scenario?

[kangzy]

Guys,

I just bought my wheel last Friday (Kingsong 16s) and i absolutely love it! Surprisingly, I managed it pick it up in few hours and i am already commuting into London for work with it. I work in Victoria and given the beautiful weather i decided to take it out to Battersea Park on my lunch break to hone in on my skills. I was on my second lap of the park when i was stopped by police!

The officer in question was very nice (even apologised for being a "kill joy") and said her fellow officer had seen me riding round the park and but because of the lack of signage she  wanted to advise me that motorised vehicles are NOT permitted in the park or any corresponding Wandsworth Borough parks. I know EUC's are not legal anywhere unless you are on private land. Prior to this incident I was actually exceptionally sceptical about purchasing one to commute in with especially in London.. but with the reassurance of fellow forum members i decided to bite the bullet and purchase. Whilst this is my third day commuting in to work i always use the quietest back road and ride extremely slowly/courteously when im around others. That said, i thought perhaps ignorantly, that riding in a park would be "low risk".

Now the officer did say she saw me riding and i wasnt riding fast nor dangerously but if i had it could of been a straight fine. She took my details and if i am caught riding in any of the borough parks again i could face a fine of up to £500! She mentioned the bylaw for these parks would be changing by the end of the year and on the spot fines will be given in such circumstances. I asked if i am able to ride on the roads, bicycle lanes or on the side walks.. to which she responded "yes that should be fine" - although i am not entirely convinced she actually knew.

I am now extremely nervous to ride elsewhere.. im assuming if i am stopped by transport police i could face having my wheel confiscated/destroyed and points on my licence?

Shaun 

 

[Knoxious]

Yeah we got stopped in Hyde Park for the same reason. No stress... "Thanks for letting me know Officer - I won't do that again!" and walked around the corner. Then got back on and byeeeee!

 

Most cops don't; know the law, some do. It is a risk, but you knew that when you bought it. I've done loads of riding in Bristol and London and it's not been a problem so far - with exception of one time  abike cop stopped me and told me I'll get in trouble later on ("when we're cracking down on them"). 

 

I say keep riding. Be safe, responsible, not too fast. Don't make people jump out of the way of you etc... you'll be ok.  

[kangzy]

1 minute ago, Knoxious said:

Yeah we got stopped in Hyde Park for the same reason. No stress... "Thanks for letting me know Officer - I won't do that again!" and walked around the corner. Then got back on and byeeeee!

 

Most cops don't; know the law, some do. It is a risk, but you knew that when you bought it. I've done loads of riding in Bristol and London and it's not been a problem so far - with exception of one time  abike cop stopped me and told me I'll get in trouble later on ("when we're cracking down on them"). 

 

I say keep riding. Be safe, responsible, not too fast. Don't make people jump out of the way of you etc... you'll be ok.  

Thats good to know i suppose. Did they take your details as well?

Im assuming the details the Park police took from wont be used against me should i be stopped by actual Transport Police? ie. if im stopped will they be able to see i was stopped in Battersea park on so and so date?

When copper on the bike stopped you were you in London, on the road or side walk?

[Knoxious]

They didn't take our details and neither did the bike cop. 

 

I can't give you a definitive on how the databases work or if they'll even bother to enter that stuff in...

 

The cop stopped me coming up the Blackfriars Bridge from the Embankment Bike Path... I was probably on the pavement. 

 

I've passed dozens of police since, they've not even blinked. 

 

I keep riding. 

 

[Gimlet]

I don't think they are allowed to keep your details for long if you didn't actually get and accept a formal caution?

The new data protection laws are likely to stop them from even entering them onto the system?

[kangzy]

43 minutes ago, Knoxious said:

They didn't take our details and neither did the bike cop. 

 

I can't give you a definitive on how the databases work or if they'll even bother to enter that stuff in...

 

The cop stopped me coming up the Blackfriars Bridge from the Embankment Bike Path... I was probably on the pavement. 

 

I've passed dozens of police since, they've not even blinked. 

 

I keep riding. 

 

thanks for the info. 

21 minutes ago, Gimlet said:

I don't think they are allowed to keep your details for long if you didn't actually get and accept a formal caution?

The new data protection laws are likely to stop them from even entering them onto the system?

At the risk of sounding ignorant should they give me some paperwork if i was formally cautioned?

really not sure about the law...

[Jonathan Tolhurst]

2 hours ago, kangzy said:

She took my details and if i am caught riding in any of the borough parks again i could face a fine of up to £500!

From reading the article (link below) you could also be fined £500 for climbing trees or flying kites in Wandsworth parks! Were you stopped by "real police" or "Parks Police" (I believe there are parks police in Battersea Park)? If you haven't already done so, please consider writing to your local MP, the mayor of London and the dfT RE: EUCs. 

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/london-borough-of-wandsworth-to-issue-fines-of-up-to-500-for-climbing-trees-flying-kites-or-playing-a3768126.html

 

Edited August 1, 2018 by Jonathan Tolhurst
Grammar

[US69]

Welcome....

.....getting criminalized for riding a EUC...i take that risk everyday in Germany, also!

While Denmark, finnland and other countries in EU get their stuff together our government does the opposite!

Meeting an officer and it may go from nothing happens, or paying a fine, or getting a criminal offense and the EUC confiscated!

everything and nothing is possible! 

I hate it...would love to live in Thailand, France, Denmark, States or somewhere where else, where freedom is the choice!

Edited August 1, 2018 by US69

[pop80]

The thing I dont understand is how are mobility scooters, scooters and childrens electric cars legal and fine, but unicyles, segways etc are not. 

 

[nute]

Yes, pathetic isn't it. That's the British nanny state for you.

[Keith]

4 hours ago, Jonathan Tolhurst said:

you could also be fined £500 for climbing trees or flying kites in Wandsworth parks

That is hilarious:

For over 10 years, 1970’s to 80’s, myself and about 8 other people regularly flew radio controlled planes - biggish ones up to 15c.c. on Clapham Common which is Wandsworth Council. Indeed, when my parents retired to the South Coast my brother bought them a book “Clapham then and Now” To our astonishment there in the book was a picture of myself and a friend with our models and a commentary: ”The traditional hobby of flying kites on the Common has, these days, been replaced by model aircraft enthusiasts”. 

Only once were we ever stopped by a keeper who prevented one of my friends flying a slow 12 ft wingspan glider (which someone might have just about noticed if it hit them) pointing out the bylaws forbid anything bigger than 36 inch wingspan. So the following week we came back with 36 inch wingspan planes. Trouble was radio gear was heavy in those days so the planes needed to be fast (VERY FAST) delta wings. After 10 minutes screaming around the sky the keeper came back and asked us to go back to flying the bigger ones. We were never ever even asked if we were insured (we were for £2,000,000 public liability).

I’m almost glad that, like almost everyone of my age who grew up in that area, I was priced out of it - my parents’ little 2 up 2 down terraced cottage, (£2000 in 1963) last sold for £950,000 3 years ago, sadly they sold it in 1986!

[Siggy]

 

17 hours ago, kangzy said:

thanks for the info. 

At the risk of sounding ignorant should they give me some paperwork if i was formally cautioned?

really not sure about the law...

 

[kangzy]

22 hours ago, Jonathan Tolhurst said:

From reading the article (link below) you could also be fined £500 for climbing trees or flying kites in Wandsworth parks! Were you stopped by "real police" or "Parks Police" (I believe there are parks police in Battersea Park)? If you haven't already done so, please consider writing to your local MP, the mayor of London and the dfT RE: EUCs. 

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/london-borough-of-wandsworth-to-issue-fines-of-up-to-500-for-climbing-trees-flying-kites-or-playing-a3768126.html

 

You are right it was park police but because this was the first time encountering these officers and the they dressed the part i actually thought they were part of the MET Police. Next time they try to flag me down ill just whizz off! Thanks for the info.

 

6 hours ago, Siggy said:

 

 

interesting vid. So does that mean if i am pulled over by police on EUC i dont have to lawfully give my details? But they can then just confiscate my EUC..

[Juggler]

On 8/1/2018 at 6:08 PM, pop80 said:

The thing I dont understand is how are mobility scooters, scooters and childrens electric cars legal and fine, but unicyles, segways etc are not. 

 

Mobility vehicles have special dispensation but all other electric vehicles including childrens scooters and cars are illegal according to the stupid laws. We need all EUC riders to sign the petition.

[Keith]

On 8/9/2018 at 7:45 PM, Juggler said:

Mobility vehicles have special dispensation 

Something I didn’t realise until quite recently is that even mobility scooters are not legal on the street unless you are actually disabled. I.e. you cannot just go and rent or buy one and use it - like on the TV series Benidorm ?). https://www.eta.co.uk/mobility-scooters-and-the-law/

There was also a bit of a storm a few years ago when a father was out walking with his 3 year old son riding a tricycle on the pavement when a policeman stopped him and insisted that the tricycle was ridden on the road, not the pavement as it was illegal under the 1835 road traffic act. The tabloids had a field day, but not even that resulted in a change in this archaic law! 

[PolarBearBob]

Hello EUC & Scooter Heads

I'm a rather old dog who has spent almost my entire life trying to subdue Alaska. I'm retired now and looking to see the UK and the EU. E-Kick Scooter looks right up my alley, especially one with a seat. I'm in good shape but the knees can't take the EUC (tried one here) about ten minutes max before pain, fun though, wished they had been around when I was sixteen. Between my military service and Alaska I have a disability and qualify for handicapped status. I have my "Handicapped" placard for my car.

Here are my questions:

• I've been told the cobblestone streets in and around the older attractions in the UK will be havoc on the small E-Kick Scooter wheels.
• The UK crowds are so huge that trying to negotiate in, around or through will be impossible.
• It's illegal to use them in the UK at all, except if you are Handicapped, maybe.
• I've been told there is no place to store them and the tours within the various attractions won't allow them in and there is no place to lock them up.
• Telling a Police Officer in the UK that I'm not predisposed to giving out my name and "Details" as a foreign national would probably be a mistake.

My wife and I are planning to rent a VRBO in London for twenty days and use trains and the tube to get to outlying points of interest but the flat we are renting is near Trafalgar Square and I was hoping to use the E-Kick scooter as a viable option that doesn't require walking my @$$ off.

I'm hoping you good people can share some of your local wisdom with me.

Thanks,

PolarBearbob     

[Keith]

1 hour ago, PolarBearBob said:

Here are my questions:

• I've been told the cobblestone streets in and around the older attractions in the UK will be havoc on the small E-Kick Scooter wheels.
• The UK crowds are so huge that trying to negotiate in, around or through will be impossible.
• It's illegal to use them in the UK at all, except if you are Handicapped, maybe.
• I've been told there is no place to store them and the tours within the various attractions won't allow them in and there is no place to lock them up.
• Telling a Police Officer in the UK that I'm not predisposed to giving out my name and "Details" as a foreign national would probably be a mistake.

• There really ain’t been a lot of cobbled streets in London since Dick Van Dyke was last sweeping chimneys.  A bit around the Tower of London and Covent Garden Market - not a whole lot more that I can think of off hand.
• I guess anywhere is going to seem crowded after Alaska, but yes, The Tower, London Bridge in the rush hour, the main shopping streets, etc. Can get very busy (usually because they are full of bloody tourists ?)
• The only thing legal, and might possibly be hired (?) are 250W 15.5MPH max electric bikes with peddles, not ideal in busy tourist areas.
• There are often bike stands around but I doubt tourist attractions will be very geared to bikes or the like?
• You could say that!  Ignorance of the law isn’t considered any sort of defence and refusing to give details can be considered “Obstructing an officer in the discharge of his duties” - potentially an up to 30 day’s prison offence - but you’d have to catch one whose having a REALLY bad day (or it’s cold & wet and he’d rather be in a nice warm cop shop filling out charge sheets ?)

To be honest you will probably be better off just getting a weekly travel card covering the travel zones you wish to visit (probably zone 1 and 2) or Oyster card (top it up as required at any station and some newsagents). Both can be used on all public transport: trains, tube, trams and buses so you shouldn’t have to do much walking. In the case of the Oyster card (or a Zone 1-6 travelcard) that’s pretty much the whole of Greater London inside the M25 orbital motorway. The Oyster card also caps out - by which I mean how ever many journeys you do it will stop charging once it has reached the daily or weekly price cap (for example: £6:80 per day or £34.10 per 7 days if you stay within central London zones 1 & 2.) 

https://www.londontoolkit.com/briefing/oystercard.htm

The only thing I believe you could use if deemed handicapped would be a mobility scooter which it appears can be hired:https://www.wheelfreedom.com/information-centre/mobility-scooters/ (I’m not endorsing this site in any way - it’s just the first link I found on Google)

Edited August 18, 2018 by Keith

[PolarBearBob]

Thank You Keith for the information, I'll try to get my bloody @$$ out of town as expeditiously as possible. OBTW if you ever get a chance to come to Alaska, look me up, we'll go bear hunting. Live bait always brings in the BIG ones.

Thanks Again.

PBB  

[Toshio Uemura]

On 8/1/2018 at 11:56 PM, kangzy said:

I asked if i am able to ride on the roads, bicycle lanes or on the side walks.. to which she responded "yes 

Would be nice to have this in writing or on a voice recorder. Could be of benefit one day. ? 

I love riding around police stations. Make the officers get used to the non threatening sight of our eHorses. 

 

[Marty Backe]

1 hour ago, Toshio Uemura said:

Would be nice to have this in writing or on a voice recorder. Could be of benefit one day. ? 

I love riding around police stations. Make the officers get used to the non threatening sight of our eHorses. 

 

Do you have a kick-stand for your eHorse or did you spend 15-minutes getting it to balance by itself? 

BTW, why did you install those ugly upper and lower rubber pads?

[Medialab]

I JUST got pulled over in Kyoto riding a KS18L. After a very long (mostly polite) discussion their verdict was that as the law is currently unclear I should avoid the roads for now. Most of my riding is done along the Kamo River so not a total loss, but still... Hoping for some clarification in the next year or so.

[Toshio Uemura]

3 hours ago, Marty Backe said:

Do you have a kick-stand for your eHorse or did you spend 15-minutes getting it to balance by itself? 

BTW, why did you install those ugly upper and lower rubber pads?

Neither nor. ? 

And the pads are temporary. I like to do tricks with my wheels and that involves some fall-overs until you really know how a new wheel behaves. Actually I find them quite well designed, compared to what you get with some of the other wheels. But they will come off in time.

[Treponema]

4 hours ago, Marty Backe said:

 ugly upper and lower rubber pads?

 

Those pads come with the production unit z10. I think they work well with the overall design

[Rehab1]

5 hours ago, Marty Backe said:

Do you have a kick-stand for your eHorse or did you spend 15-minutes getting it to balance by itself? 

I thought the same thing until I adjusted the contrast of the photo.

 

[Marty Backe]

4 hours ago, Treponema said:

Those pads come with the production unit z10. I think they work well with the overall design

Oh I know - I have a set too but they remain in the box