Cops have justified seizing an e-scooter from a teenage girl in the city, as well as slapping her with six points on her future driving licence.
Steve Kersey, 40, was left feeling frustrated by the police's response to his 16-year-old daughter riding a scooter down the slope from Castle Meadow towards Royal Arcade on Monday, June 13.
As well as paying £150 to retrieve the scooter from a garage, Mr Kersey's daughter was hit with a £300 fine on the grounds of "using a motor vehicle on a road or public place without third party insurance".
The Attleborough teen also received six points on her licence - even though she can't yet drive.
Mr Kersey, who lives in the city centre, described this as "a grey area".
But Norfolk Police has now justified the punishment.
It said those caught riding a privately owned e-scooter on public land can receive a fixed penalty notice for no insurance, with a £300 fine and six penalty points or a fixed penalty notice for no driving licence, and up to £100 fine and three-six penalty points.
A Norfolk Police spokeswoman said: “E-scooters are defined in law as ‘powered transporters’ meaning they are classed as a motor vehicle.
"Therefore rules that apply to motor vehicles - for example cars - also apply to e-scooters.
"Privately owned e-scooters cannot be insured as they are not roadworthy and therefore, they cannot be used anywhere other than private land.
“We ran a road safety campaign in April of this year, raising awareness of the legislation surrounding the use of privately owned e-scooters.
“We will continue to engage and educate users on these laws.
"However where there is persistent use of privately-owned e-scooters, or evidence of other offences, we will take appropriate enforcement action. This includes e-scooter seizure and riders being reported for driving offences.”
Mr Kersey, who works in construction, previously said his brother is disabled and uses a mobility scooter which is powered.
He believes this requires no insurance to be used on public roads.
Mr Kersey said: "Cycles that are battery powered are classed as assisted power apparently.
"Yet you have to push the scooter to get it to even work."
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