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An e-scooter rider on an early morning joyride in the wrong direction along Auckland’s Southern Motorway fled the scene after he collided with a car.

Police said they received reports of a person travelling southbound in the northbound lane on State Highway 1 on an e-scooter.

Around 4.31am, soon after the initial reports, they were alerted to the scene of a crash involving a car and an e-scooter, near the motorway’s Port and Symonds St exit.

A spokesperson said emergency services were sent to the scene but the rider was nowhere to be found when they arrived.

He was found a short time later “not far from the scene”, police said.

The rider only suffered minor injuries in the crash.

Police were continuing to make inquiries into the circumstances surrounding the accident.

The rider was found nearby with only minor injuries after fleeing the crash, police said. Photo / George Novak

In February, dashcam footage of a person riding an e-scooter on one of the busiest sections of the Southern Motorway was shared online, sparking outrage amongst motorists.

High-speed traffic zoomed past the rider as he travelled along the furthest left lane, holding up the vehicles behind him on a Sunday afternoon.

It was understood the rider exited at Khyber Pass Rd and continued on to Newton Rd.

A spokeswoman for the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) said at the time that riding an e-scooter with a power output of 300 watts or more on a motorway is unlawful if it isn’t registered or licenced.

Dashcam footage of a person riding an electric scooter on Auckland’s Southern Motorway on February 23, 2025.

E-scooters are confined to a top speed of about 35km/h at 300 watts.

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

But the sighting of e-scooter enthusiasts attempting to traverse motorways, exclusively reserved for high-speed vehicles, isn’t a new phenomenon.

A man was also photographed crossing the Auckland Harbour Bridge on his e-scooter in January 2023.

Then in July that year, a separate person was caught riding along the Northwestern Motorway on his scooter around 3am.