The Metropolitan Police (MPS) has tweeted that it is illegal to ride hoverboards in the UK, no matter if you’re doing it on public roads or pavements, all because of a 180-year-old law, according to mashable.com.

Just on private property and adequately equipped, please

The news appeared on Sunday on MPS’ twitter with the part of the legislation that makes you an outlaw if you use hoverboards in the UK anywhere apart from private property with the landowner’s permission. Using them on pavements would contravene section 72 of the Highway Act 1835 in England and Wales and section 129(5) of the Roads Act 1984 in Scotland.

“You can only ride an unregistered self-balancing scooter on land which is private property and with the landowner’s permission. Appropriate safety clothing should be worn at all times”, said The Metropolitan Police on their tweeter, the above-mentioned source also states.

People are attracted by forbidden things

Despite the news, Simon Benson from Ghetto Gadgets, a distributor of hoverboards in the UK, thinks that from now on these devices will be wanted even more. “If the authorities give any impression that the use of hoverboards in some circumstances is unlawful, then I expect sales to soar.

Clearly customers need to take advice, but millennials are not going to take kindly to the authorities using a law that pre-dates the penny-farthing to tell them what they can or can’t do on the streets of Britain.”, said Benson for The Guardian.

Regardless of talks on social media sites, these means bad news for those who use hoverboards in the UK. It’s clearly that an old law like this should have been abolished, but what now? Assuming that you have a hoverboard, will you ride it on public roads, risking a fine from the police? Please leave your opinion in the comment section below.

The post Looking forward to using hoverboards in the UK? Think again! appeared first on Insane Visions.