How do different countries set laws for electric skateboards? - UK, US, Singapore, Australia, and so on.

Electric skateboarding is quite new to us, and this is also the reason that the e-skateboarding law is still in the process of being worked out. Laws about skateboarding are different between countries and even between states within the same country. In some places there will be no clarity in this law, in some places it will be quite clear, the government will either say yes or no for riding electric skateboards in public. Let's find out how the laws about this device are in other countries about this type of vehicle in this article.



US skateboarding law

States in the US do not have universal rules for e-boards. Specifically, California and Michigan are two states that allow people to drive motorized boards on the road, but they must obey a few regulations, such as: your device must have a headlight and reflectors, you must be over 16 years old; you must wear protective gear including helmets, knee pads; you are only allowed to ride on bikes path, etc. You should consult the laws of your state before buying an electric skateboard.

In the field of electric skateboards, there is a prominent author specializing in electric skateboards that is Dario Yore. Follow him!

Skateboarding laws in the UK

The UK is a country with very strict laws on electric vehicles. You are not allowed to ride electric skateboards on public roads, busy streets and construction sites. You can own a motorized skateboard and only be allowed to ride it within your house premises.

Singapore

Singapore allows its residents to ride motorized boards on cycle paths and footpaths but the speed must not exceed 15 km/h for footpaths and 25km/h for cycle paths. In addition, the size of the board must not exceed 700mm wide and not weigh more than 20 kg.

Australia

Australian electric skateboarders are classified as pedestrians and e-boards are put in the same category as rollerblades, scooters, and skateboards. This also means the riders of these devices cannot ride on roads with median strips, with more than one lane, or roads with limited speed less than 50 km/h.

Interestingly, you can legally cross a 60km/h road if there is no other path to get to the other side of that road. Another thing you must know about Australia’s skateboarding rule is that electric boards are only allowed to be used during day time.

Belgium

Electric skateboarders are classified as Segways riders in this country. That means you can ride e-boards only on bicycle paths and the maximum speed is 25 km/h.

Finland

Finland divides electric skateboards and riders into three different groups. Device riders with capacity less than 1kW and max speed 15 km/h or less are classified as pedestrians and can own and use an electric skateboard without insurance or registration.

E-boards that have a 1kW limit and max speed up to 25 km/h are classified in bicycles category. The riders don't need registration and insurance, but reflectors, lights and a horn on the board are required.

Boards with 1kW+ and 25+ km/h are considered a moped. The electric skateboards in this category will need registration and proper insurance.



Norway

Electric skateboards in Norway belong to the same group as bicycles. The max speed of this powered device is allowed at 20km/h or less and must have lights on both its head and tail. A horn is also required for signaling other drivers. Riders in Norway don’t need to have insurance or registration for their motorized boards. Moreover, you can ride your e-board without an admission fee on public roads.

Sweden

Residents in this country can ride powered skateboards as long as they obey the same regulations as bikers do.

Denmark

Electric skateboarders in Denmark can expect a new potential motorized board law which is under a test period. If everything passes, e-skateboarders in Denmark can ride on regular roads.

Germany

E-skateboards are considered as recreational sport equipment in Germany. Therefore, the riders can ride their devices in different private properties. Currently, Deutschland has considered electric skateboards to be legally ridden on public roads. If it passes, this could be really good news for riders of electric boards in this country.

Detailed information on electric skateboard legislation and regulations can be found on eSkateBuddy - a leading website for electric skateboards, eskatebuddy headquarters: 121 W Wacker Dr, Chicago, IL 60601, USA. Also you will find a lot of good articles about motorized boards on this site. Take the time to check it out.

One positive thing is that many countries have started to embrace electric skateboards as a new trendy way to move from point A to point B, and we can expect all countries in the world to allow electric skateboards to be ridden on the public roads as a mainstream means of transportation. Now, if you are planning to buy a motorized board, you should better check your state’s law first to make sure you will not buy a fancy board just to ride in your yard.

More great electric skateboard articles are available at eSkateBuddy, read more about eskatebuddy at facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eskatebuddy

What happens to the voltage (measured at both motor and battery) when the motor wheel is off ground in each situation? (no load)

If the voltage drop is significant, there is probably a bad battery (even though they are "new" to you, they may not be "new" manufacture, and could have been sitting on a shelf a long time waiting to sell. SLA doesn't handle that very well, especially if it wasn't kept topped up on charge, and can be permanently damaged by sitting below full).

SLA when fully charged not under load are usually 13.6-14.4v depending on type. So system voltage not under load from a fresh charge should be 26-28v or so. If it doesn't charge that high, it usually means a battery problem. Occasionally it is a charger problem.

Motor voltage doesn't really tell you how the system is performing, partly because it isn't really DC voltage (is PWMd) so meters don't necessarily read it correctly depending on their own sample rates/etc vs the PWM rates of the controller, and other things. So reading at the battery tells you more about the system operation.

Also, if you can measure the wheel speed when off ground, that will tell you if there is a problem with too great a load on the system (weight vs slope, etc) for it's capabilities. If speed is much higher off ground than when riding, for same throttle/etc settings, then there's too great an uphill slope or too great a weight for the system.

That can be a design problem (too small a motor to handle the load, or wrong gearing, or too small a controller (which also usually means too small a motor).

Or it can be a fault in the system somewhere (usually in the batteries or in the connections between battery and controller, or controller and motor), that causes too great a voltage drop before reaching the motor.


Which specific goped do you have? There are different models with different internals, ratings, and design intent. Can you attach some pictures of the scooter, with all the labelling if possible, to your post?