Hoverboard: Is a driver’s license necessary?
Marty McFly would be proud: hoverboards are finally real, albeit a slightly different build from the 1989 version of Back to the Future II. In the USA, the small vehicles have been very popular for years. So you’re probably asking yourself whether you can drive around in Germany with it. Do you even need a driver’s license for this?
E-boards: The problem with street legal
Unfortunately, you can’t just buy a hoverboard and let the kids ride it to school. This is due to the provisions of the Road Traffic Act (StVO), the Road Traffic Licensing Ordinance (StVZO) and the Driving License Ordinance (FeV).
Since her with a hoverboard faster than 6 kilometers per hour you need a permit for public paths and roads. That is fixed in § 16 StVZO. This means that certain basic requirements must be met for sidewalks, public spaces and cycle paths. These include, among others:
- one maximum speed of 20 kilometers per hour.
- one steering or holding rod.
- a maximum Maximum continuous rated power of 500 or 1,400 wattsi.e. the power that an engine can sustain for a maximum of 30 minutes.
- the following Dimensions: maximum 2 meters high, 1.4 meters long and 75 centimeters wide.
- a curb weight not exceeding 55 kilograms.
- two independent of each other brakes.
- sufficient lighting.
- one bell.
- a Rear license plate.
Unfortunately, the design of the devices does not allow for some of these requirements. That’s the situation in Germany at the moment not possible, an approval or just a liability insurance for it. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem likely that legislation regarding hoverboards will change in the near future unless new models meet road safety requirements (source: bussgeldkatalog.org).
Hoverboards: driver’s license and penalties
E-boards can therefore not be approved and therefore cannot be specifically classified. Therefore there is currently no driver’s license, which also includes hoverboards. However, since the devices can drive faster than 6 kilometers per hour, one would actually be necessary (source: ADAC).
Assuming you were riding your hoverboard in normal traffic (whether on the street or on the sidewalk), that would penalized as driving a car without a license become. On private property, on the other hand, nothing can happen to you.
In our example scenario, you would commit a crime according to §21 StVG. In addition, one would Violation of the compulsory insurance law consist. Even if you let a friend drive it onto the street, for example, that is already a fact. We have broken down for you in the table what this can cost you in terms of fines and what other penalties there are. In most cases, the police will also confiscate the device.
| facts | fine | Points in Flensburg |
| Driving without a permit on public roads | €70 | 1 |
| Driving without a license on public roads arrange or allow | €70 | |
| Drive without a driver’s license | Fine, possibly imprisonment (1 year max.) | |
| violation of that Compulsory Insurance Act | Fine, possibly imprisonment (1 year max.) |
(Source: bussgeldkatalog.org)
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