Active transport

Skateboards, foot scooters and roller blades

Follow these rules when using wheeled recreational devices like skateboards, foot scooters and roller blades

A wheeled recreational device is a device with wheels designed to carry a person, primarily used for recreation or play, and powered by human effort, gravity, or (in the case of a scooter) a low-powered electric motor.

Wheeled recreational devices include:

  • skateboards
  • roller blades and roller skates
  • human-powered foot scooters (propelled by pushing one foot against the ground)
  • low-powered low-speed electric scooters (with a maximum 200-watts of power and maximum speed capability of 10km/h).
     

The following aren't considered wheeled recreational devices:

  • e-scooters (with speed capability greater than 10km/h)
  • motorised mobility devices (including powered wheelchairs)
  • hoverboards and other motorised devices  (e.g. electric unicycles, Onewheels, etc).

Rules for wheeled recreational devices

If you're using a wheeled recreational device on the road:

  1. keep as far to the left side of the road as you can
  2. don't travel alongside more than one pedestrian or vehicle travelling in the same direction, except for overtaking
  3. ride with a bell or horn (if using a scooter).

On a scooter, you must also:

  • wear a helmet
  • have at least one effective brake
  • when riding on a road at night, use lights and reflectors, including a:
    • white light (flashing or steady) on the front
    • red light (flashing or steady) on the back
    • red reflector on the back.

Where you can and can't ride

Where you can ride Where you can't ride

Unless you see a 'no wheeled recreational devices' sign, you can ride on:

  • footpaths
  • bicycle paths
  • shared paths
  • the bicycle side of separated paths
  • shared zones
  • roads with a speed limit of 50 km/h or under (only during the day).
  • The pedestrian side of separated paths
  • Roads with dividing lines or median strips
  • Roads with a speed limit of more than 50 km per hour
  • One-way roads with more than one marked lane
  • In the slipstream of another vehicle (you can't be towed by a vehicle, for example)
  • Where there is a 'No wheeled recreational devices or toys' sign
  • On the road at night, except to cross the road, e.g., at an intersection. This doesn't apply to scooters with lights.

Relevant road rules

The rules for wheeled recreational devices are published in the Road Safety Road Rules 2017:

  • Part 14 - Rules for pedestrians (Rule 240 - 244B)