Riding self-balancing scooters in public is actually illegal

Scooter boards, self-balancing scooters, swegways, hoverboards, personal transportation devices - call them what you want, they're banned.

Police in London have clarified that the boards cannot be used in public at all, either on roads or pavements.

All motor vehicles on public roads must be registered and their drivers licensed and insured, but as you can't do that for the scooters, they're automatically banned.

It's also an offence (under section 72 of the Highway Act 1835) in England and Wales to ride or drive a vehicle on the pavement (separate legislation covers Scotland but the outcome is the same).

So, basically you can only use these... devices on private property with the landowner's permission.

We've contacted WizBoard, which distributes the scooters in the UK and the US, to ask whether they were aware of the law.

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