Published: 02:37 AEDT, 10 December 2024 | Updated: 02:46 AEDT, 10 December 2024
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Camera footage caught the moment an e-scooter rider risked his life by travelling along a busy motorway during Storm Darragh.
Dressed in a long black jacket and a balaclava, he can be seen slowly ambling down the middle lane of the motorway at 10mph in dark conditions and heavy rain.
The footage was filmed on Saturday, the same day a man died in Birmingham when a tree fell on his car.
The Aston Expressway is a motorway, but with a 50mph speed limit, and one of the busiest commuter routes into and out of Birmingham.
The video of the incident has been viewed thousands of times since being uploaded to social media where baffled residents expressed their dismay.
Taking to social media one person said: 'Not a brightest idea on the best of days but to do it during that storm is braindead moronic. Must have a death wish.'
Another added: 'Lucky he wasn't killed....dark clothes, no helmet, madness.' A third put: 'How the f*** he stay on that in these winds.'
A man was filmed riding along the Aston Expressway in Birmingham as the city was hit by 60mph winds over the weekend
Dressed in a long black jacket and a balaclava, the man can be seen travelling down the middle lane of the motorway in heavy rain
Another commented: 'The budget hit Batman hard too.. downsized to a scooter'
Another wrote: 'Is that Darth Vader heading downtown for the fancy dress Xmas doo.'
It is not the first time an e-scooter rider has been caught risking their life while driving down a busy road.
In December last year, the Daily Mail reported that a man had been caught on camera riding on the M5 in Somerset.
Jamal Rabeh, 29, of Staplegrove, near Taunton in Somerset, was arrested when police stopped the scooter heading northbound between junction 24 and 25 of the M5.
A similar incident happend in June of this year when an e-scooter rider was caught racing down a dual carriageway at 40mph, in Wembley, North London.
Speaking in June Sarah Gayton, who runs the UK's National Federation of the Blind, which wants to see e-scooters and bikes off Britain's streets called on the new government to stop all 'imports of the vehicles' branding the users 'idiots'.
'The riders are putting their own lives at risk and those of others. They terrorise people in towns and cities and there is no reason one should ever be sold.'
The Aston Expressway is one of the busiest commuter routes into and out of Birmingham
The video of the incident in Birmingham has been viewed thousands of times since being uploaded to social media
With nearly a million e-scooters on Britain's public roads, anyone using a privately owned e-scooter is likely to be committing an offence such as driving a motor vehicle with no insurance.
The driver could be liable for a fixed penalty of £300 and six points on their driving licence.
Pilot e-scooter rental schemes in various towns and cities including London, Bristol, Liverpool and Bournemouth enable riders to travel legally on public roads. But this is limited to certain roads and it is illegal to ride e-scooters on motorways.
The Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety's latest figures show there have been six deaths this year involving e-scooters.
A spokesperson for West Midlands Police said: ‘We are aware of the video and have reviewed it.
It is illegal to ride private scooters on public land in the UK. An e-scooter scheme is now available in Birmingham as part of a Government trial, but the scooters cannot be ridden on motorways.’
Published by Associated Newspapers Ltd
Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group