Dangerous riders of e-scooters and hoverboards on footpaths do not realise they are illegal

^{Hoverboards are a common sight now in Hong Kong (often seen in Sai Kung)}

An increasingly common sight around town is young people riding electric skateboards, scooters and hoverboards at dangerous speeds. One chap on an in-line two-wheel gadget was seen on a footpath outside Mona Fong clinic going far too fast to stop if an old person or child suddenly emerged in front of him. Many kids ride them around the old ladies pavilion in Man Yee Square. It appears they do not realise what they are doing is illegal.

The Transport Department classifies battery-powered, two-wheel gadgets as motor vehicles. If you use one without a licence you can face a fine of $5000, even jail for three months.

However, the technology does make a lot of sense — at least as regards e-scooters — and is likely to be widely adopted once the law catches up with the times. Skateboards and hoverboards, however, if riden at high speed (up to 100 kph) appear much more dangerous.

^{Electric skateboards can do as much as 100 kph}

China’s fastest growing e-scooter maker is Niu Technologies. The company has set up in Hong Kong at Henan Building, Wanchai. Niu now has a market capitalisation on Nasdaq of US$2 billion and is selling e-scooters at the rate of 250,000 a quarter. The company claims the moped-style bikes are much more efficient and greener that electric cars, because they use about a tenth of a car’s battery power.

^{Niu e-scooter}

E-skateboards and hoverboards are now widely available in Hong Kong at the likes of Skateboard Longboard Shop, Mongkok, Electric Scooter MAX, Tuen Mun and Moto Plex, To Kwa Wan. But you didn’t read it here.  They are illegal.