Clive Betts. E-bikes: A Threat to Public Safety

[Baron99]

Clive Betts has raised the issue in the Commons regarding public safety & the use of e-bikes. 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce93rdyg4xgo

 

The ones on the pavement are a menace, particularly the food delivery riders.

[modforlife]

He's 100% correct . I was sat upstairs in the window of Grappa on West Street a couple of weeks ago watching the world below  . It was unbelievably how they just sailed through red lights on the pedestrian crossing , and traffic lights,  narrowly avoiding pedestrians and traffic turning . 
They were jumping between the pavement and the road narrowly missing people at quite considerable speed , and i even witnessed a couple travelling down the wrong side of the road . 
In other words they are totally lawless  and its only a matter of time before there is a serious accident. 

Edited August 1 by modforlife

[The_DADDY]

E bike riders are a damn menace. Arrogantly riding on paths, sailing through red lights including pedestrian crossing with pedestrians actually crossing at the time.

They obey very few if any rules of the road. 

Catch em. Fine em, crush their damn bikes.

Same for e scooters too whilst I'm at it. 

[geared]

Riding bikes on the pavement is already illegal isn't it?  So surely it's a police issue?

 

The scooters would be fine if they were limited to 5-10mph, no-one would bother riding them at the speed.

Edited August 1 by geared

[The_DADDY]

32 minutes ago, geared said:

Riding bikes on the pavement is already illegal isn't it?  So surely it's a police issue?

 

The scooters would be fine if they were limited to 5-10mph, no-one would bother riding them at the speed.

Yes apart from designated cycle paths/shared cycle paths it is illegal to ride on the path. 

[peak4]

Not impressed with the article really, which seems to fail on several fronts.
I really haven't the time to trawl through all the relevant legislation, but a very rough summary from what I remember; some of my exact terminology might not be up to speed with the legislation.
It's all covered by existing legislation;

E-Bikes isn't an ideal term to use in this sort of an article, as it fails to make the distinction between electrically assisted pedal cycles, and what are effectively fully electric motorcycles/mopeds.
The former have strict power limits, and must only engage the motor assist when actually pedalling, and then only up to a defined maximum speed; as such they are still defined as bicycles in the road traffic act, and do not need mandatory insurance, registration, helmets etc.

Many pedal cyclists do have voluntary insurance, either through groups like the CTC or their own home policies.
Obviously we no longer have road tax in the strict sense, but  excise duty is now charged on emissions so electric would be free anyway (at the moment), 

 

Electric bikes which can move under their own power are defined as  mechanically propelled vehicles.

As such they need to conform to all legislation, need MOTs where appropriate, insurance for road use, rider's licence, registration numbers, etc.
There are some fully legal electric motorcycles and mopeds, the latter having strict power limits. Some need a full bike licence, others are OK on a provisional (I think).
Remember the Hairy Bikers doing one series on fully electric bikes; those things are large and seriously fast, though obviously have limited range
All of the above are prohibited from use on the pedestrian footway, other than shared spaces for bicycles.
Anyone pulled on any powered vehicle without insurance may well end up with 6 points on their driving licence; I think if they don't have a licence, a ghost one is created and the points added there, which become active when a licence is obtained.
They may well also be prosecuted for other offences under RTA, or Construction and Use legislation.

E-Scooters are still electrically powered vehicles, and their use on the highway etc is prohibited, unless they conform to all mentioned previously, and also liable to the whole array of points fines etc  above.
There is a statutory exemption for some experimental hire schemes in a few UK cities.
As part of the hire T&C in these schemes, insurance is provided; red lights etc still apply, though one would hardly think so from what I've observed.

Legislation is up for review on much of the above.
I think the above is about right, but feel free to add any corrections, particularly if there has been any legal updates or test cases.

[peak4]

To follow on from the above; bear in mind this is "The City of London", not The Met or Greater London
City of London Police seize five illegal e-bikes and e-scooters a week CoL Police web site

The City of London Police relaunched its cycling capability last summer to help combat phone snatching, as well as other offences like drug and road offences.

The cycle response unit is highly visible, and able to quickly get through areas inaccessible to vehicles.

The modified bikes have been illegally converted to have a motor greater than 250 watt and include a throttle that means the rider no longer needs to propel the pedals to trigger the power assistance.

Legal e-bikes are not permitted to exceed 15.5mph and the motor will cut out if the maximum speed is hit.

Illegal bikes have been clocked at doing nearly double the permitted limit.

The modifications affectively turn the e-bikes into motorbikes and therefore in order to be road-legal require tax, insurance and a driving licence for the rider.

Riders of these vehicles in the City, if caught, can expect to have them seized and depending on the offence, receive a fine of £300.

[ads36]

probably too late to point out that really we're talking about electric mopeds/motorbikes here.

 

i've got an ebike, i use it for riding to work, and nipping into town. 

• if i'm not pedalling - i get no motor assistance.
• if i go over 16mph, the motor cuts out, leaving me on my asthmatic tod with a bike that's suddenly very hard to pedal (gearbox and puncture proof tyres are a slow combination!
• so i tend to take it easy to be honest - the real benefit of my ebike is my increased speed uphill - 13mph instead of 6 - this is where my journey time is reduced.

the 'bikes' you see being ridden by delivery riders are mopeds/motorbikes.

 

standard (?) ebikes effectively give the rider the equivalent oomph of a young fit rider - but only up to 16mph.

 

[Al Bundy]

Don't write to Clive Betts voicing your concerns or anything else for that matter.

 

He never replies.

[peak4]

Spotted on Real Classic bike group on Facebook