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*UK EUC'ers: Share your police run-ins here*


Paddylaz

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This should cheer you up Trem ?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FwYxkZ9jTvk

So unfair but very funny. As a general rule the Rozzers are a sociable bunch.

On my way home today, I was stopped & told by a patrol to be careful not to get caught & that he couldn't possibly comprehend why the single Wheels are grouped into the pathetic board group.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 21.10.2015, 21:48:33, Jason McNeil said:

So unfair but very funny. As a general rule the Rozzers are a sociable bunch.

On my way home today, I was stopped & told by a patrol to be careful not to get caught & that he couldn't possibly comprehend why the single Wheels are grouped into the pathetic board group.

Did You ride quite slow ?

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  • 4 weeks later...

Tower Bridge 24-nov-2015
Finally after a few months of use and mostly admiring and curious looks of the Met Police, I was stopped.
There was tirade about all kinds of things he had seen and heard about that these things were actually very dangerous (impervious to the fact that he himself was the driver of a car), but his core complaint focused on two points, namely that I was going too fast during rush hour. Without either of those he probably would not have bothered.

The objective here is not to get the facts right, but to get out of there as soon as possible without being fined. I would think Tower Bridge is off limits at least until 2016 for me and I have already been scouting for inner roads everywhere else. Next time he would prosecute me.

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4 hours ago, Lovely said:

UK, Dartmouth. I got stopped by the old man on the pavement. He was very self confident and quite skillful, I didn't realise who is he.. There was enough space for both of us..I rolled slowly as the pedestrian! He told me that I could be taken to the court! I breaking the law if I go on the pavement. I said, that this is not the scooter...but he said its motorised, so not allowed. I said that, If anything is motorised it doesn't always mean bad ..and what about those heavy mobility scooters riding on the pavements,they are motorised as well ! Man was a bit confused and not happy, but I said, I am sorry if you think that you are right! Have a good day sir! I have put my wheel on the car road and I then rolled away quietly  .. I didn't try to argument actually, I cant see any problem if there is plenty space on the pavement!!

Sorry about my bad English..

 

Edited by Lovely
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  • 4 months later...

I use my EUC on a daily basis. During the week I commute to and from work on it sometime's taking a long, scenic, route home if the weather is nice and I have time. I also ride to the shop, supermarket (if only picking up a few things) and to my daughters school to pick her up. 

With nice weather I also go "cruising" around and can cruise around 11-16 miles on one battery. I have a spare now so when the nice weather picks up I'll probably go further.

I haven't seen anything that mentions EUC's are prohibited in the UK and I use it around my town all the time and apart from that one PCSO I have had Police officers drive past in various vehicles or I have past them while they are stopped at traffic lights  with no problems and I even had a conversation with one, who was on foot, who asked if I was enjoying riding and mentioned he had bought one of the "hoverboards". I warned him to check for a CE label to make sure it's tested and not to leave it while it's on charge just in case after all the reports. 

 

If it ever does get to the point that EUC;s are specifically banned I will no longer be mobile which will seriously depress me. I am 41 and was active all the time with long walks/bike rides for many years until my spine issues struck. The EUC gives me my freedom and sanity! A mobility scooter would make me feel embarrassed and unable to enjoy time out with my girls.

 

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26 minutes ago, TremF said:

 

I haven't seen anything that mentions EUC's are prohibited in the UK and I use it around my town all the time and apart from that one PCSO I have had Police officers drive past in various vehicles or I have past them while they are stopped at traffic lights  with no problems and I even had a conversation with one, who was on foot, who asked if I was enjoying riding and mentioned he had bought one of the "hoverboards". I warned him to check for a CE label to make sure it's tested and not to leave it while it's on charge just in case after all the reports. 

 

7 minutes ago, Andy said:

so it looks pretty calm out of London, but what about this page: http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/p_to_r/road_traffic_offences/index.html#pavements ?

TremF, The link Andy shared states that pavement usage is prohibited according to 1835 law, but according to this  so are skateboards, scooters of any kind and roller blades. Obviously, eucs are far from being allowed on the road in the UK cause of the missing mirrors and a visible spot to attach a number plate to, so the safest spot remains to be pavements.

Experience shows that riding responsibly and stepping off a wheel in busy areas is the best way to avoid unwanted questions. 

Personally, I haven't been stopped but got some tense looks from some officers in winter. Seems better now.

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Have you tried to use them in parks? or it's completely against the law?

My wife and I were using them to get to the tennis courts through several parks before moving to London, I wonder if that's possible to do the same here.. like in Greenwich park.

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"Self-balancing scooters (such as segways, mini segways, Hoverboards and single wheel electric skateboards) "

 

Where in that list do they specify Electric Unicycles? - I see segways, mini segways, hoverboards and single wheel electric skateboards also one part that mentions 2 wheels or more... It's been said many a time that EUC's are a grey area not actually covered by any legislation.

 

So long as we are polite, friendly, ride responsibly and step off the wheel in busy areas we should be ok. Electric unicycles are safer and less intrusive to pedestrians than "hoverboards" etc With the price of decent EUC's and how awkward they can be to learn hopefully numpties that are likely yo cause bother will be put off getting one. :)

I have ridden through parks and even around Hollingworth Lake near me which is quite popular. I have never had any complaints - some people laugh, some question what it is etc, I've had all sorts of people say they want one and some just go "wow!" :)

Edited by TremF
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3 hours ago, Andy said:

Have you tried to use them in parks? or it's completely against the law?

My wife and I were using them to get to the tennis courts through several parks before moving to London, I wonder if that's possible to do the same here.. like in Greenwich park.

I use my IPS Lhotz purely recreationally, so I'm always in the park with it. (Hyde Park or Battersea Park).

Every policeman, (including vans of policemen) have passed me and have never said or done anything. With the exception of ONE.

There's this one asshole (pardon my french) who stopped me once and told me to leave the park. He cited some 'park regulation' that he said was on the park's website. I checked it later and went through all the regulations and there was nothing. Apparently he's notorious though for being a jobsworth and a general c*** (pardon my french again). He always shouts at the rollerbladers to stop playing their music and various other things that aren't really within his jurisdiction.

So basically, you won't have a problem......unless you run into that clown.

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  • 2 years later...

In November, I decided to go to the Guy Fawkes event in Lewes East Sussex.  Lewes is famous for having seven Guy Fawkes societies, some going back over 150 years.  Anyway, it's such a big event that they literally close down the town and all surrounding roads for miles.  Even the trains stop stopping there.  Since I was living only about 6 miles away at the time I thought "what the hell" lets drive close, then fire up the EUC for the last mile.  All went well until I got near Lewes.  There was a massive police road block with several officers on duty.  One of them said "You do know those are illegal" I answered in the affirmative.  He then said " You do realise that the town is crawling with police officers".  I said, as it was my first time, I didn't know that.  We agreed that he would let me pass as long as I promised  not to ride it in town (there were tens of thousands of people down there, but also long clear stretches of road where I could have ridden safely, but there were police "camps" everywhere and I couldn't be sure he hadn't radioed ahead about me and my EUC).  I did as instructed, trollying the wheel everywhere.  Overall, he was a good guy, as he could have fined me, confiscated the wheel, point on my driving licence, etc.  When I left, I trollied the wheel past the final police check point, and around the corner into the darkness of the country night before getting back on.  There's nothing to be gained from being cocky or stupid.

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  • 2 years later...

I realise this is an old thread but figured i would share my experiences. I have had 3 total encounters with the police within my northern town. Let me explain each one in detail:

First encounter - The first encounter i ever had was within a public park. I was on my wheel going slightly above walking speed. The officer was driving his car through the park for some reason (the paths are paved and similar size to a single track road). The officer simply stopped his car and rolled down the window. I was actually quite nervous but he actually wanted to know what the hell i was riding and that his son was talking about a hoverboard and he was thinking about buying one. It did make me laugh how chill he was about the situation.

Second Encounter - I was riding my wheel down a fairly busy street but i was on a bike path. Out of pure timing i had two PCSO's walk out in front of me. These guys seemed a bit more thorough. They asked me what it was, how fast does it go and how far does it go. I told them  it went 15 mph (a little white lie). Goes for about 2 hours and its an electric unicycle! After i answered their question one of them just said "that is really cool" and they carried on walking. 

Third encounter - This encounter my soul left my body i was going down a very similar street to my second encounter with the exception of a bike path. I was simply on a standard footpath doing about 15mph. As i was riding i suddenly see the street light up blue. I look behind me and a full size police van was behind me. Blue lights but no siren. Once i looked around however the blue lights promptly switched off. The fan contained 2 female officers in the front and asked me to come over. Of course i did. They then said they popped the blues on to get my attention without scaring me with a horn etc. They didn't want me falling off! Again like all previous encounters they were simply curious and wanted to know how i was "floating down the street". My dumb ass stuttered "am...i in trouble?" They simply laughed and said "its a bloody wheel man what would you get in trouble for?"

In conclusion in my area at least i have learnt that the police are more than fair with EUC's. Most the time they are curious and just checking that you are safe. Now if i probably told them the true specs of my wheel the story may of been a little different however i generally try to stay within legal ebike speeds in those type of areas. I really do think that the rule of thumb is don't be a dickhead. If no one complains about you and you use you common sense in busy areas especially police officers will just class you as a ebike that is missing a wheel. My personal advice would be to avoid riding on roads as much as possible in the UK as that's when issues will start. Just stick to bike paths as much as possible and keep within those legal speeds in busy areas and honestly the police seem pretty chill. 

 

Disclaimer - All events above are my opinion and experiences they may not be the same for everyone. I am willing to answer any questions people may have.  P.S sorry for the huge post ahah. 

Edited by EUCandME
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  • 2 weeks later...

Luckily I've not had too many experiences with police, just one where they wanted to know what it was and where to get one. 

Other than that they seem to mostly ignore. Though when riding on in town I always stick to the side at sensible speed, and wear full protection with a high vis vest. 

Seems that as long as you look like youre being sensible they mostly leave you alone. 

 

But have been avoiding riding in town due to police seemingly cracking down more on e-scooter users. 

 

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