E-scooter riders might feel invincible as they fly through city streets but they can still fall foul of the law like other road users.

Rules around e-scooter use vary from state to state, with some people allowed to ride on footpaths while others have to follow maximum speed limits. 

But riders everywhere can lose their driver’s licence, cop a fine or even jail time if they’re caught speeding or riding while on drugs or over the legal blood alcohol limit.

“It’s clear you face the same penalties for breaking road rules on an e-scooter as you do for breaking the same rules when driving a car,” Slater and Gordon legal counsel Katrina Pedersen told AAP.

But some people are either not aware of the laws or decide to break them anyway. 

A Victorian man earlier this month was fined $1000 and lost his licence for 13 months after he was caught riding while three times over the blood alcohol limit.

Another man in Queensland was caught travelling 94km/h on an e-scooter while not wearing a helmet.

He was fined $575 and disqualified from driving for six months.

An e-scooter trial in Melbourne has increased the number of scooters in the city centre, with more than five million rides taken since February last year. 

The city council last week announced a trial fleet of 25 private-hire scooters would be introduced, fitted with camera and GPS technology to crack down on illegal footpath and tandem riding, with riders also given audio warnings if they break the rules.

Ms Pederson said rules were constantly changing, which would catch out some riders and leave them vulnerable to penalties.

“People just assume that you hop on the scooter, pay your money and away you go,” she said.

“What people didn’t realise there are rules for using an e-scooter.”

But certain behaviours will always be illegal, regardless of the jurisdiction. 

“If you won’t do it on a car or on a motorbike, then you shouldn’t be doing it on an e-scooter,” Ms Pederson said.