Diversionary Course Introduced to Educate E-Scooter Riders and Parents

A new diversionary course is being introduced in Cleveland which helps to educate riders, including children and their parents, on the legalities and dangers around e-scooters, as an alternative to criminalising them.

The new measures take a three-step approach which aims to steer individuals towards education and invite them to a diversionary course, prior to any criminal action being taken.

Under the Road Traffic Act, offences related to e-scooters are dealt with in the same way as other road traffic offences. Criminal action can lead to riders with points on their licence, even though they’re not yet old enough to have a driving licence, driving bans and higher insurance costs.

The use of e-scooters has also led to a rise in fatal collisions and collisions where people have been left seriously injured. In Cleveland, there were 36 collisions between 2021 and 2025, involving e-scooter riders and pedestrians; one of which was fatal, 14 resulted in serious injuries and there were 21 with slight injuries.

One of these incidents left a 22-year-old man with a broken pelvis, and another left a mother and two children with injuries.

Privately owned e-scooters can lawfully only be used on private land, with the landowners’ permission. There are currently no ongoing e-scooter trials in Cleveland, where e-scooters can be rented for a limited time to be used on public roads and cycle lanes in designated areas.

Officers are able to pursue e-scooters and other similar vehicles such as off-road bikes wherever appropriate, based on their level of training and assessment of the situation and surroundings.

Matrix Superintendent Paul Richardson said: “Often, e-scooters are seen as toys rather than vehicles and some people don’t know that by law they are prohibited from being used on public land and cycle lanes, due to the dangers that they pose both to the riders and other members of the public.

“Both locally and nationally, there have been an increasing number of incidents relating to e-scooters, with a number of people fatally and seriously injured as a result. 

“Due to misunderstandings around the use of e-Scooters, we are looking at alternative and proportionate options to deal with these issues rather than enforcement where possible. If someone is caught using an e-scooter, initially, officers may look to offer alternative education options rather than enforcement; however, where an individual has offences of a similar nature or there are aggravating factors, enforcement will be taken and the e-scooter destroyed. This may result in heavy fines, penalty points or disqualification - even if the individual doesn’t currently hold a driving licence.”