If you are thinking of packing your ‘hoverboard’ for a scoot around London, cancel that order.
The killjoys of Britain’s law enforcers have sighted a 180-year-old law to ban self-balancing scooters from public areas.
Own one of these or thinking about getting one? They’re illegal to ride in public! Info here: pic.twitter.com/vMm0hxNAjs
— MPS Specials (@MPSSpecials) October 11, 2015
The funky mobility devices, based on Segways and affectionately known as ‘hoverboards’ by fans of the Back to the Future movies – in which 1980s time-travelling hero Marty McFly acquires a levitating skateboard on his visit to 21 October 2015 – are increasingly popular and have become a common sight in the UK.
According to a new guidance from the Crown Prosecution Service, though, the two-wheeled zipsters are classified as a vehicle so cannot be used on the footpath:
“It is an offence under section 72 of the Highway Act 1835 to ride or drive a vehicle on the pavement. It is only an offence under this Act in England and Wales. In Scotland it is an offence under section 129(5) of the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984.”
While it is also illegal to ride them on roads as they are not approved or able to be licenced and registered:
“Vehicles must be approved via ECWVTA or MSVA in order to be licensed and registered. Self-balancing scooters would not currently meet the requirements of these schemes so are not legal for road use.”
According to the guidance, self-balancing scooters may only be used on private property:
“You can only ride an unregistered self-balancing scooter on land which is private property and with the landowner’s permission. The Department for Transport would advise that appropriate safety clothing should be worn at all times.”
Maybe Marty needs to jump in the DeLorean for a trip back to 1835 and blast some legislators with a bit of Van Halen to melt their brains?
Future Day, self-lacing shoes and hoverboards are here!
As we are now in the future-most year of Marty McFly’s adventures, companies have been striving to achieve the Back to the Future II hoverboard in time for what has been deemed by film fans as ‘Future Day’, the real 21 October 2015.
While the self-balancing scooter does offer a futuristic form getting around, it doesn’t exactly levitate.
The nerds at Lexus seem to have cracked it though. Yes, seriously! They have developed an actual levitating board, based on super-conducting maglev technology.
That’s heavy! Check out the hoverboard video:
Meanwhile, speculation is rife that the foot-mad-scientists over at Nike will have a version of Marty’s 2015 self-lacing high-top sneakers just in time for Future Day.
October 21, 2015 pic.twitter.com/uOCp5L8BXz
— Max Erdenberger (@thebetamax) September 9, 2015
Now, if someone can just get a flux-capacitor on the shelf this month, we are all set to go back… to the future!
