Wiltshire riders warned naivety not a defence against illegal e-scooter use
Police say they won't tolerate the use of the vehicles
The use of e-scooters and e-bikes in Wiltshire has been called naïve by the county's Head of Roads Policing.
Acting Inspector Will Ayres has warned the public that firm action will be taken against offenders with the devices, saying the use of the vehicles 'won't be tolerated'.
It comes shortly after Hampshire and Isle of Wight Police using new powers to seize and destroy the vehicles, often used by gangs, in Operation Crush.
A daily issue for Roads Policing Unit
E-scooters, and some e-bikes, are illegal in Britain but they're an issue Inspector Ayres and his team face on a daily basis.
"There's a complete mix of people using them," he said, "There's some working professionals that use them, as what they deem to be a green form of transport, rather naively not realising you need to have driving licence and insurance due to the fact that they are deemed as motor vehicles.
"We also see criminality utilising them for their ease of speed and manoeuvrability, and police are targeting those that use e-scooters and illegal e-bikes."
One method of disposal available to officers is seizing the vehicles under the Road Traffic Act.
"And due to the complexities of not being able to register them, insure them or have suitable driving licences, then ultimately they will be disposed of," Inspector Ayres told us.
'There's clear legislation'
In Wiltshire, the current arrangement see's an approved vehicle operator recover the vehicle that's been seized. But then it's down to the operator as to what happens next.
"Ultimately after 14 days, it's down to that operator to dispose of them as they see fit ,so they can strip them for parts, they can simply crush them or recycle parts of the metal frames.
"But it means that they are there no longer on the roads and pavements of Wiltshire."
A number of different operations have been run throughout the county to increase peoples awareness of the illegality of such vehicles and Inspector Ayres says there's now enough information for people to know better.
"The information's been out there long enough now that we're starting to not take people's naïve opinions on the fact that they thought they were allowed to use them," he said, adding:
"There's clear legislation, clear social media push in regards to their illegality and we will take firm action on offences that we identify."