2018 DAKAR competitor and former British Superbike racer, Max Hunt, has had his licence revoked after riding an uninsured hoverboard in the street.
His prosecution came on December 22, just two weeks ahead of the 2018 Dakar Rally, in which he will be competing in the HT Rally Raid Husqvarna Racing team.
The 34-year-old heir to the Foxtons estate agents fortune was spotted by police overtaking pedestrians at a junction on the 10mph Airwheel device near Green Park in central London in March 2017.
Department for Transport laws dictate that the one-wheeler is classed as a motor vehicle and as such users must have the correct licence, tax and insurance. Under the Highways Act, it is an offence to ride the electric boards on public pavements or the road.
At Wimbledon magistrates’ court on December 22, Hunt, who is known as ‘Mad Max’ owing to his love of extreme sports, claimed to be unaware that the device needed insurance to use on the road, telling the judge: ‘My wife’s parents gave it to me for Christmas. It was a toy. It was a fun gift. I had seen one before and they are quite fun things to move around on.’
However, District Judge James Henderson, prosecuting, said: 'He seemed to take the view that because other people were using them on the road he assumed he didn’t need insurance.
'A moment of research on the internet would have revealed he did. It took me 30 seconds to find the relevant information that you can’t use these on the roads. He just assumed so, he was in no way misled.'
Hunt, of Palace Gardens Terrace, Notting Hill, admitted using a motor vehicle on the road without third party insurance and was charged accordingly and given six points on his licence. However, he already had nine points from two speeding offences and so was banned from driving for six months.
He was also fined £500 and ordered to pay costs of £85 and a £30 victim surcharge.
His prosecution is one of the first of its kind in the UK.
