Man admits drink-driving on e-scooter
Unal Gokbulut failed a roadside breath test near his home in Ipswich.
A man has admitted drink-driving while riding an e-scooter.
Unal Gokbulut was using the electric device when he was stopped and failed a roadside breath test near his home in Ipswich in the early hours of April 5, Suffolk Police said.
The 42-year-old appeared before Ipswich Magistrates’ Court on Friday where he admitted drink-driving while using the electric scooter.
Speaking through a Turkish interpreter, he said: “It’s correct. I’ve taken alcohol. I accept.”
Presiding magistrate Robert Saunders imposed an interim driving ban on the defendant.
Suffolk Police said Gokbulut, of Hilton Road, provided a breath test sample of 70 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath – twice the legal limit of 35mcg.
E-scooters are treated as motor vehicles by the Department for Transport and are subject to the same legal requirement as other vehicles.
It is illegal to use a privately owned e-scooter on a public road, cycle lane or pavement in the UK.
The only place they should be used is on private land.
However, the Government has begun trials of e-scooters in approved rental schemes.