Segway owner loses appeal over fine for riding on pavement

An unemployed factory worker who became the first person in the UK to be convicted of riding a Segway on a pavement has lost an appeal against the decision.

Phillip Coates' prosecution has been seen as a test case by users of the distinctive two-wheeled personal transporters.

In January, District Judge Michael Rosenberg ruled at Barnsley magistrates' court that the Segway is a motor vehicle under the meaning of the law and therefore it is an offence to ride one on the pavement.

Coates, 51, of Park Avenue, Cudworth, South Yorkshire, was fined £75, and ordered to pay £250 costs and a £15 victim surcharge.

Yesterday, in a judgment handed down at the High Court in Leeds, the conviction was upheld by Lord Justice Munby and Mr Justice Langstaff.

Campaigners for wider Segway use say they are in effect barred from using them on pavements if they are classed as motor vehicles, yet cannot drive them on roads because they do not meet all the requirements of a motor vehicle for use on the highway.