• A person was caught on dashcam footage riding an e-scooter on Auckland’s Southern Motorway. 
• NZTA says it is unlawful to take a scooter on a motorway unless it has a power output above 300 watts and is registered and licensed. 
• Social media users have criticised the rider as an ‘absolute moron’. 

Bewildering dashcam footage has caught a person riding an e-scooter on one of the busiest sections of Auckland’s Southern Motorway. 

The rider was slowly travelling only metres from high-speed traffic and held up motorists behind them as they entered the motorway at the Gillies Ave on-ramp on Sunday afternoon. 

The rider was in the furthest left lane, a merging lane for traffic from Gillies Ave and traffic taking the off-ramp to Khyber Pass Rd. 

Bewildering dashcam footage of a person riding a scooter on Auckland's Southern Motorway. 

The Herald understands the rider exited at Khbyer Pass Rd and continued onto Newton Rd. 

A timestamp on the dashcam showed the incident was captured about 3.30pm on Sunday. 

Police said they did not have a report of the incident, but did receive a report of two people on an electric scooter on a motorway on-ramp about 6pm. 

There are signs on the Gillies Ave ramp showing pedestrians and cyclists are forbidden. 

The rider was slowly travelling only metres from high-speed traffic. 

Police’s road policing manager was not available for comment when approached. 

A spokeswoman for the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) said it was unlawful to ride an e-scooter with a power output over 300 watts on a motorway without registering and licencing it. Flamingo uses 300 watt scooters and they are unlicensed. 

At 300 watts, a scooter is limited to a top speed of about 35km/h. They do not need to be registered or licensed at this power output to use local roads. 

“Motorways are high-speed environments and it’s important that all vehicles using them are legally and appropriately registered and licensed,” the spokeswoman said. 

The scooter user’s move received scorn online. 

“Absolute moron,” one social media user said of the rider. 

“Idiots on a scooter,” another said. 

E-scooters, mobility scooters on harbour bridge, other Auckland highways 

E-scooters and mobility scooters have been spotted on Auckland’s motorways and the city’s harbour bridge. 

In 2019, a man on a mobility scooter wearing a full-face helmet took on the Upper Harbour Highway Bridge. 

A man drove a mobility scooter on a busy Auckland motorway going no more than 30km/h. 

In 2023, at least three people were spotted in the low-powered vehicles in odd places. 

A man was photographed riding his e-scooter across the Auckland Harbour Bridge in January. 

A man on a mobility scooter braved one of Auckland’s most notorious roundabouts at the Southern Motorway’s Ellerslie ramps in May. 

And in July, a man was riding on the Northwestern Motorway on his scooter about 3am. 

Raphael Franks is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. He joined the Herald as a Te Rito cadet in 2022.