Are fold up scooters road legal?
kona_matt
Posts: 475
Saw something amusing on the way home last night. Teenager on one of those little fold up scooter doing 20ish mph down a hill on the carriageway with cars following him.
Raised a couple of questions in my head. a) is a scooter road legal? it's got 2 wheels like a bicycle? b) if it's not road legal, where is line drawn between scooters and bicycles? Early bicycles were essentially scooters with a seat, much like a child's balance bike. Is a drivetrain required to make it road legal or could you remove your cranks and scoot around on a bike legally?
Any ideas? I could just google it but I thought it might be an interesting talking point.
Raised a couple of questions in my head. a) is a scooter road legal? it's got 2 wheels like a bicycle? b) if it's not road legal, where is line drawn between scooters and bicycles? Early bicycles were essentially scooters with a seat, much like a child's balance bike. Is a drivetrain required to make it road legal or could you remove your cranks and scoot around on a bike legally?
Any ideas? I could just google it but I thought it might be an interesting talking point.
FCN 9 - 2008 Kona Cinder Cone
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I'd assume that if pedestrians are 'road legal' then a little scooter is too.Mud - Genesis Vapour CCX
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Was it one of these? It's a good idea for p'd up people but who drives their car to the pub in any case? Must be a country thing.
http://www.scooterman.co.uk/Reading/index.htm0 -
AFAIK anything with a motor that is "road legal" needs indicators and other lights. One of the few (only??) exceptions are electric bikes with pedals.0
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No I think he meant one of these
http://www.hifi-tower.co.uk/Razor_Spark_Scooter_Kids_Ride_On_Action_Sports_Bike_Blue_i230_3159_0.htm?campaign=pricesearch/google/10003708
Right?- Genesis Croix de Fer
- Dolan Tuono0 -
Kurako wrote:Was it one of these? It's a good idea for p'd up people but who drives their car to the pub in any case? Must be a country thing.
http://www.scooterman.co.uk/Reading/index.htm
no, one of these
http://www.toywebb.net/prod1991.htmFCN 9 - 2008 Kona Cinder Cone
FCN 9 - Custom Build On-One 456
FCN 5 - 2010 Boardman Team Carbon0 -
pangolin wrote:No I think he meant one of these
http://www.hifi-tower.co.uk/Razor_Spark_Scooter_Kids_Ride_On_Action_Sports_Bike_Blue_i230_3159_0.htm?campaign=pricesearch/google/10003708
Right?
yup, or one of thoseFCN 9 - 2008 Kona Cinder Cone
FCN 9 - Custom Build On-One 456
FCN 5 - 2010 Boardman Team Carbon0 -
I thought the position was that you can use anything on the roads. "Road legal" only becomes an issue with certain types of vehicles like cars because they can cause damage so minimum requirements exist to try to minimise that damage.0
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But that's because of all the other vehicles around. If it were only pedestrians, you would be the fastest thing around0
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You can certify almost anything to be road legal, but it still needs to be certified before you are allowed to use it on public roads. Anything with a motor or engine would almost certainly need to be certified. Some of the larger MOT places can certify, say, a mad hovertrike you built in your shed.White Horse wrote:I thought the position was that you can use anything on the roads. "Road legal" only becomes an issue with certain types of vehicles like cars because they can cause damage so minimum requirements exist to try to minimise that damage.0 -
I have been stopped on a skateboard on a dual carridge way by the fuzz (say 15yrs ago max)
they just gave the high and mighty row they always do and drove off (thank god they didnt search me ;->)
if you stayed on the double yellow lines you could work up a fair old pace
its not a motorised vehicle so no road laws applicable, but you can be done for drunk on a bike so maybe they can streach that.
but a quiet scoot along on the pavement even when sh1tfac3d should not attract their attention
and having fell off many human powered toys drunk I can tell you that the main enemy is speed wobble, it normally starts with you carving0 -
kona_matt wrote:Kurako wrote:Was it one of these? It's a good idea for p'd up people but who drives their car to the pub in any case? Must be a country thing.
http://www.scooterman.co.uk/Reading/index.htm
no, one of these
http://www.toywebb.net/prod1991.htm
In that case I don't see why not. It seems a bit nuts but I'm sure loads of people think we're all a bit mental too
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