German Esk8 Laws

riding without a motor isnt too bad anyway, mayby try pumping setups or something super versatile like the icarus!

or keep on working on super stealth setups and only ride 20kph tops! i found that if you set up your board to be really turny, even 20kph can be fun with carving! :slight_smile:

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CA’s law in a nushell

  • Okay to ride on bikeways, trails
  • Okay to ride on roads with up to 35mph speed limit
  • Need to wear helmet, regardless of age.
  • 15mph speed limit anywhere.
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Yeah but nobody cares about the specifics of the esk8 law for California where I live they just know that it’s legal. Every time I go past a cop in my neighborhood (usually around 15-20mph) they are more curious than skeptical.

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I go 30mph all the time, just saying what the letter of the law actually says.

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Very close to Hagen but I have some relatives in Berlin. So a visit will happen but it takes four hours with the train. I will let you know when I’m in Berlin next time.

@whitepony I’m building a compact one with hubs right know to make it more stealthy. I have a set of Jacobs so they shouldn’t be to fast. In my region aren’t a lot of flat areas for carving and pumping. The motor especially the brake feature make the electric skateboard so valuable for me. Hills are a pain when you are on Flintstone mode. My daily ride had + 400 meters elevation compared to my start.

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Well I just got busted by a guy from the Campus security services. I am not allowed to use it on campus and next time he sees me again using it he will take the board and take me to the university presidium office.

This basically means that I have no longer a place to lightheartedly ride this thing in Germany. The equipment for my second build already arrived (2 VESCs and Jacob Hub motors) and I probably have to think about selling it. Anybody interested? :cry:

Man, for a country so well known for loving efficiency, your “law enforcement” seems to love being a buzz kill :confused:

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That really sucks! Here in Portugal I think no one will bother me if they see me riding an electric longboard. A few weeks ago I passed by a motorcicle accident with several cops around. While I was riding in the bike lane only one looked at me just checking what it was that I was riding.

The polititians here have more important or not so important things to think about. No one will care about electric longboards if they can make a tax over it and for now there aren’t that many electric longboards in Portugal. I only know about mine and saw one E-Go a few months ago.

Couldn’t out run him?

They are illegal here in AUS too because a guy on a motorbike killed a lady last year. Yeah, that makes sense…

He was in a car behind me and I did not see him. You will never be able to constantly check your surroundings - so this was just a matter of time. At least I did not get fined because it was private property, but it sucks nonetheless. Especially knowing that the laws will not change in the near future it makes me so angry that Germany is wasting such a potential for cleaner cities and easier commutes.

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But there are never any police roaming around where I live in AUS. People are just like holy shit, how sick is that!

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A guy in germany riding a Trampa actually got an official insurance and license plate for his board :astonished:

More information in the legal thread on the german esk8 forum:

Edit: @lox897 is posting a picture with a license plate ok or not? I just directly linked his image but feel weird posting it without editing the license plate Edit2: just to be safe I removed the picture

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Should be fine. Thanks for asking. @Maxid

Why does he ask you?

He was a moderator posting just above my post - so the most recent moderator I could think of and was already involved in the topic. Is that a problem?

I dont know ^^

Hey…New to esk8 and longboarding in general. Just ordered a evolve carbon gt 2 in 1. Been reading through the thread…

I’m a Canadian living in Hamburg and was hoping to use it to commute around the city, but reading here is making me think otherwise. I bumped into a guy the other day in the city with the same board, but didn’t have enough time to ask him about the legality of it.
Perhaps this is my optimistic side thinking, but is there not some way to get this thing a TUV or at least get the ball rolling in the direction of making it a debatable issue? I love Germany…but mega pissed about the contradiction of rules here…I know my fair share just getting a visa each year.

The worst word in any language is “can’t”. We can find a way.

I know we’re a small community (esk8ers), but there must be a way to start the topic of clean energy mobility. Governments love showing off “green solutions”. Denmark and Finland already have something like this (if I understood correctly).

A bike can ride the road without insurance…even if we have to limit our speed ( only when their watching of course :wink:

Even if you get an insurance, you’re not allowed to ride because you need an operating licence for your “vehicle” because it’s motor-driven, that’s the problem.

Ask your Distributor, ask other big brands that sells boards in germany like Yunnec, Mellow etc. if they can help. It will take money and decades of years but laws will change and in the future our kids hopefully can ride eboards without fear of the police.

Government is focusing on cars, electric-cars and stuff, they give a shit about skaters.

I’m riding in Hamburg for 2 years now, no problems so far. Just stay under the radar and ride defensively, that helps! And always use the sidewalks, never the streets or bike lanes.

Is there a esk8 association in Germany? I’m German living over here in France at the moment and it’s quite interesting to see how associations are used here to create a voice, if you like to say so. It’s good if there are lots of esk8ers around but as long as they are not organized there is no real weight to their voice.

I’m not convinced that esk8ers should actually participate in road traffic, especially in cities and densely populated areas. I would wish that our infrastructure would make it possible for small electrical vehicles to commute through town already, but think there we still have a looong way to go.

Just my 2 :wink: anyway, happy riding, stay safe and don’t get caught!