Hover boards banned on uk pavements?!

Associate
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The Highways Act (1835) prohibits the use of powered vehicles on the pavement. Although this was a good idea at the time, preventing things such as steam powered traction engines from being used, it now stifles progress as harmless devices are illegal to use.
Popular self-balancing scooters (so-called 'Hoverboards') and other such devices as electric scooters and segways are also deemed illegal in the UK.
They are legal for use in much of the rest of the world. The UK's strict adherence to anachronistic laws is self-defeating in this case, and should be altered to accommodate advances in technology.

Other Countries such as US, France, Germany, Italy can all do this yet UK ban this transport!?
 
Caporegime
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You're assuming these advances in technology are good things and that they're harmless.

I've seen someone hit by a berk on a motorised schooter. It wasn't harmless.
 
Soldato
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This was announced not long after the appeared, have you only just realised.

There are far from safe and aren't regulated that's why you'll find they're banned, not that I imagine anyone will get into trouble as around the O2 loads of people have them.
 
Associate
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Yea, I saw someone run into someone once on the payment... dangerous stuff ;)
Health and safety gone mad in this country, the state is producing a risk adverse/joyless population.
 
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Soldato
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Wasn't there a guy who got hit by a bus after loosing control of one? Pretty sure there was also a child knocked down by another.

Add in the spontaneous fires and I think it's best to leave it a few more generations then have another look.

If you still want to look hipster may I suggest a penny farthing or a unicycle?
 
Soldato
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Scotland
The Highways Act (1835) prohibits the use of powered vehicles on the pavement. Although this was a good idea at the time, preventing things such as steam powered traction engines from being used, it now stifles progress as harmless devices are illegal to use.
Popular self-balancing scooters (so-called 'Hoverboards') and other such devices as electric scooters and segways are also deemed illegal in the UK.
They are legal for use in much of the rest of the world. The UK's strict adherence to anachronistic laws is self-defeating in this case, and should be altered to accommodate advances in technology.

Other Countries such as US, France, Germany, Italy can all do this yet UK ban this transport!?

You can however use them in this fine countries extensive network of segregated cycle infrastructure. Oh wait, no, sorry we don't have any of that. Buy a car I guess?
 
Soldato
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You're assuming these advances in technology are good things and that they're harmless.

I've seen someone hit by a berk on a motorized scooter. It wasn't harmless.

Indeed, though the numbers are low, people are routinely killed by mobility scooters and pedal cyclists.

(I do not know what the current figures are but I have seen old government stats that suggest that, on a per million vehicle miles basis, Pedal cyclists actually kill more people in urban areas than White Van drivers (Who, perhaps surprisingly, are actually the safest vehicle class, despite being the most likely vehicle class to be caught "speeding"))

The main anachronism is that if you run over and kill somebody on a bicycle it is somehow considered a far less serious matter than if you are operating a machine with an engine (Though I believe the law on such matters has been modified recently)
 
Soldato
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Indeed, though the numbers are low, people are routinely killed by mobility scooters and pedal cyclists.

(I do not know what the current figures are but I have seen old government stats that suggest that, on a per million vehicle miles basis, Pedal cyclists actually kill more people in urban areas than White Van drivers (Who, perhaps surprisingly, are actually the safest vehicle class, despite being the most likely vehicle class to be caught "speeding"))

The main anachronism is that if you run over and kill somebody on a bicycle it is somehow considered a far less serious matter than if you are operating a machine with an engine (Though I believe the law on such matters has been modified recently)

In 2012, one pedestrian was killed by a Cyclist.
There were also 78 serious injuries caused by Cyclists. In comparison of the same year, 253 pedestrians were killed by vehicles in urban areas and 4,426 were seriously injured.

Deaths caused by Cyclists are very rare.
The other thing to bare in mind about the stats involving Cyclists is that for the majority, these aren't injuries caused because the Cyclist was riding illegally on the pavement, they are mostly where they are riding on the road and something has happened, like a pedestrian stepping out without looking.

The issue with pavements I feel is that there are a certain type of people who cycle recklessly and drive their mobility scooters fast without thinking of the danger they pose. They are the kind of people though that aren't going to change their mindset and there isn't enough policing to do much about.
 
Soldato
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I've only ever seen one person using a hoverboard and he was pushing a pram - seriously.

Only person I've seen on one was working nights on christmas day. I couldn't sleep so got up and went outside to have a smoke.

Saw him leave work, put this thing on the floor and start whizzing off home, he must have been really happy with the fact that he could get home 5x faster.

He managed to get about 10-20 meters before the battery died and he had to pick it up and carry it home, they don't look particularly light.

I don't know why but I felt happy about it.
 
Soldato
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Agree with ban.

Anything powered excluding the obvious disabled vehicles shouldnt be aloud on the pavement, not entirley sure what your problem is with the ban itself?
 
Caporegime
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Indeed, though the numbers are low, people are routinely killed by mobility scooters and pedal cyclists.

(I do not know what the current figures are but I have seen old government stats that suggest that, on a per million vehicle miles basis, Pedal cyclists actually kill more people in urban areas than White Van drivers (Who, perhaps surprisingly, are actually the safest vehicle class, despite being the most likely vehicle class to be caught "speeding"))

You've either suffering from dodgy memory or you didn't fully understand what you were reading. Very few people are killed by cyclists, you might well have misread the figures which may have been for cyclists who were themselves killed.
 
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