Moment e-scooter rider zooms along 40mph dual carriageway

Moment e-scooter rider zooms along 40mph dual carriageway

A foolish e-scooter rider who hurtled down a dual carriageway at 40mph has been slammed by campaigners trying to rid our streets of the dangerous devices.

Footage shows the young man on the scooter in the outside lane of the A40 close to Wembley, north London on Sunday afternoon.

Despite it being impossible to obtain insurance for e-scooters - meaning they cannot lawfully be ridden on roads - video shows the rider overtaking car drivers on one the busiest entries to London.

Sarah Gayton, who runs the UK's National Federation of the Blind, which wants to see e-scooters and bikes off Britain's streets called on the new government to stop all 'imports of the vehicles' branding the users 'idiots'.

Ms Gayton said: 'The government needs to stop their importation, stop their sale online and stop these idiots.

'The riders are putting their own lives at risk and those of others. They terrorise people in towns and cities and there is no reason one should ever be sold.'

With nearly a million e-scooters on Britain's public roads, anyone using a privately owned e-scooter is likely to be committing an offence such as driving a motor vehicle with no insurance.

The driver could be liable for a fixed penalty of £300 and six points on their driving licence.

Pilot e-scooter rental schemes in various towns and cities including London, Bristol, Liverpool and Bournemouth enable riders to travel legally on public roads. But this is limited to certain roads and it is illegal to ride e-scooters on motorways.

The Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety's latest figures show there have been three deaths this year involving e-scooters- half of last year's figure.

Previously the MailOnline reported on another e-scooter rider racing onto a motorway before shocked drivers.

Along the M4 near Heathrow, the reckless rider was caught on camera by a driver so worried he shouted at him to pull over so he could give him a lift.

Terry, 50, was travelling from Chiswick to Heathrow to pick up a friend at 9pm on Monday when he spotted the scooter rider he described as 'so stupid it was like he had a death wish'.

'Which means the rules that apply to motor vehicles, also apply to e-scooters including the need to have a licence, insurance and tax.

'It's not currently possible to get insurance for privately owned e-scooters, which means it's illegal to use them on the road or in public spaces.

'If you're using a private e-scooter you risk the vehicle being seized under S.165 Road Traffic Act 1988 for no insurance.

'If you cause serious harm to another person whilst riding an e-scooter the incident will be investigated in the same way it would if you were riding a motorcycle or driving a car.'