Warning issued to Voi users as police crackdown on underage riders across Northamptonshire

Police have launched a campaign to crackdown on underage riders using Voi e-scooters across Northamptonshire.

West Northamptonshire and North Northamptonshire Councils, and Voi, is supporting Northamptonshire Police’s campaign, which urges people not to share their e-scooter accounts with anyone.

Since the trial first launched in the county in Northampton in September 2020, a number of complaints have been raised by residents, and underage riders is one of them. Although Voi says the number of people breaking these rules is small.

No-one under the age of 18 is allowed to ride a Voi rental e-scooter in Northamptonshire and anyone riding a Voi has be have either a full or provisional driving licence.

Police say anyone who allows an underage rider to use their account could be banned from Voi and even face prosecution.

According to police, officers will be carrying out spot checks/patrols on e-scooter riders in coming weeks to clamp down on underage riders.

Matt O’Connell, Northamptonshire Police Safer Roads Team Manager said: “We know that targeting dangerous e-scooter riding is something that the community want us to focus on and operations like the ones we will be carrying out in the coming weeks will do exactly that.

“A young person without a driving licence has no experience of what it’s like to travel on the roads and by enabling a child to ride an e-scooter, you are putting them at risk of serious injury and even death.

“If we stop a young person using an adult’s account, we will be looking to progress a prosecution against that adult for offences such as permitting someone with no insurance to use their account.

“We will continue working with Voi and the two local councils to target underage riding and anyone who spots an underage e-scooter rider is encouraged to report it to Voi via their reporting system.

“Please keep the children in your care safe by refusing to share your Voi account with them. E-Scooters are not toys and there is a reason why the minimum age to ride one is 18.”

Councillir Matt Binley, North Northamptonshire Council’s Executive Member for Highways, Travel and Assets, said: “I welcome this campaign by Northamptonshire Police and we are working hard with Voi to crack down on underage riders, but also need your help - if you spot someone who may be underage using an e-scooters or any other incidents of unacceptable rider behaviour, please report the incident.”

Councillor Phil Larratt, Cabinet Member for Environment, Transport, Highways & Waste, West Northamptonshire Council, added: “The Voi scheme provides a cost-effective and sustainable way to travel. However, unfortunately there are some people who abuse this scheme and help under 18s access e-scooters illegally.

"Let’s work together to help keep everyone safe, and ensure only those who are legally old enough to ride the e-scooters do so.”

If anyone spots someone they believe is underage riding a Voi e-scooter in Northamptonsire, they can report it to the company on either report.voi.com or [email protected].