Courts seem to be increasingly struggling with the “deluge” of E-scooter related cases and the paradoxical legal situation, as one judge put it “a chicken and egg argument”, within which these cases fall.
E-scooter-related offences have been making their way through Northern Irish courts since they first began hitting our roads.
As legislation was built around their introduction to general sale, it seems the legal system has been playing catch-up ever since!
Anti-social behaviour and nuisance complaints from the public continue to increase so to do we see an increase in the number of cases coming before court, as police attempt to manage the situation.
According to PSNI advice about E-scooters and the law, published on their website, E-scooters; scramblers; go-peds; buzz boards; quads and mini-motos do not generally comply with construction and use legislation and vehicle standards so are therefore, restricted to off-road use only.
If used on the road the rider would require the following: A driving licence from age 16 (minimum Category AM), at least third party insurance for road use, ave the vehicle registered with the DVLNI and display a number plate, have a Vehicle Excise Licence when used on the road, have obligatory lamps, reflectors and rear markings fitted, fulfil all requirements in accordance with the Motor Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1999, a protective helmet in some cases (although the wearing of a helmet in all situations is recommended for personal safety).
Lawyers coming before courts to defend clients charged with E-scooter-related motoring offences are now frequently challenging the law in respect of whether their clients can, in practice, actually fulfil all of this criteria.
At a recent case hearing before Craigavon Magistrates’ Court for a defendant charged with having been in control of a scooter without MOT certification, without a driving licence, no insurance and no vehicle excise licence.
The lawyer defending the case, Ciara Ennis informed the court that – similar to another barrister known to her – she was building an argument that there was “no legal way to actually comply with those requirements” [in respect of MOT, insurance and tax].
Ms Ennis informed the court that she had asked the Bar Library to “do a little research” and she had herself conducted some research into how to make the vehicles road legal but had in fact, “not been able to get a straight answer to my question”.
She informed the court, “It’s essentially a situation where someone can’t put themselves on the right side of the law.
“There is no law saying you can’t ride a scooter but other laws are then deployed to make it illegal.”
District Judge Michael Ranaghan described it as a “chicken and egg argument and we are all caught up with that at the moment” but said he invisaged the courts were going to get a “deluge of these to a degree.”
“The sooner we find a way to nip these in the bud, as in, find out what the right course of action is the better.”
