Riding a motorbike on the pavement is illegal – but there is an exception

PAVEMENTS are for pedestrians and the road is for motor vehicles – or that’s how it seems most of the time, anyway. 

But there are times when you are permitted to ride your motorcycle, scooter or moped on the pavement, under very specific circumstances. 

1

Is it illegal to ride or drive on the pavement?

The Highway Act 1835 states that you cannot “wilfully ride upon any footpath or causeway by the side of any road made or set apart for the use or accommodation of foot passengers”.

Rule 145 of the Highway Code states that “you must not drive on or over a pavement, footpath or bridleway except to gain lawful access to property, or in the case of an emergency”.

The Road Traffic Act 1988 states that any person who “drives a mechanically propelled vehicle… on to any road being a footpath, bridleway or restricted byway, he is guilty of an offence”.

It’s normally illegal to drive a car or ride a motorcycle on the pavement, especially when doing so would endanger pedestrians. 

The same rules often apply to footpaths and other routes designed for non-motorised traffic.

But it isn’t illegal to drive across the pavement to access your driveway, for example. 

And it isn’t illegal to drive onto the pavement in an emergency.

You can still be prosecuted for careless or dangerous driving if you cross the pavement in a way that puts other people at risk. 

When can I ride on the pavement? 

Section 34(3) of the Road Traffic Act 1988 lays out one specific provision for driving on the pavement, though. 

It says “It is not an offence under this section to drive a mechanically propelled vehicle on any land within fifteen yards of a road, being a road on which a motor vehicle may lawfully be driven, for the purpose only of parking the vehicle on that land.”

That means you can ride your motorcycle, scooter or moped on the pavement if you’re accessing a parking space – but only for 15 yards. 

That’s around 13 metres. 

The place where you plan to park your moped or motorcycle has to be a legal parking place, though. 

That means private parking or a designated motorcycle parking area.

Occasionally, motorcycle parking areas near shops are only accessible via the pavement.

It is legal to access this kind of motorcycle parking facility, provided they are within 15 yards of the road, and you ride across the pavement safely. 

You can also ride on the pavement if directed to by a uniformed police officer. 

But regardless of the legality of your trip across the pavement, you can still be fined or prosecuted if you do so dangerously. 

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