Big companies openly flouting the e bike law

[Mr Gus]

PED-elec
Pedal-assisted.

It's very different to the twist / push & go ..& part of what has been the measure of illegality, prosecution & confiscation that has troubled the electric scooter market.

So why has no-one dealt in the same manner with the clearly 1000's of non compliant food delivery shines that appear to have been tampered with an masse, ..stopped by police, prosecuted & confiscated?

Over the course of the late afternoon & evening whilst watching from my vantage point of a busy junction in Cambridge I likely observed 100 shines going by, typically imported by certain delivery companies, which whilst they get a lot of mopeds off the streets, & as an e bike owner myself I Did not see a single one actively pedalling, not even a singular complete revolution.

I moved to one of the few town hills / inclines to.observe (busy day evening) ..again zero input to pedals.

Yet all the focus is on the scooter menace (nb. My e bike is just as quiet)

[Ken]

Not sure what you see as the problem. I view e scooters and bikes as the solution and not the problem. I view chelsea tractors as the problem.
PS i only have a normal bike but as i get older the day is coming.

[Stinsy]

Not sure what you see as the problem. I view e scooters and bikes as the solution and not the problem. I view chelsea tractors as the problem.
PS i only have a normal bike but as i get older the day is coming.

The problem is that traditional ICE motorbikes must pay tax, must display number plates, must have insurance, and the rider must pass stringent written and practical tests to be allowed on the road.

Very similar, electrically powered vehicles, pretending to be bicycles, openly flout the law. These vehicles are a danger to their rider and other vulnerable road users.

For me it is really simple: a vehicle with 2-wheels and a motor is a motorbike.

[ALAN/ALAN D]

Tricycle is the way forward.

With a bicycle it only has two wheels so fitting extra / much bigger batteries is a balance problem.

A tricycle has got three wheels. Much bigger batteries can be fitted without balance problems.
That has to be the way forward.

The down side is now the average car is just smaller than a 7.5 tonne lorry there will be more accidents with people / driver less cars crashing into them.

[Mr Gus]

Not sure what you see as the problem. I view e scooters and bikes as the solution and not the problem. I view chelsea tractors as the problem.
PS i only have a normal bike but as i get older the day is coming.

Well Ken, as per title.. I love my ebike, which I use the pedals to motor assist = legal, & yes, I'd love an extra 5mph speed potential, despite using it as designed rather than sheer laziness often attributed to ebikes in the early days.

I also love, but am damned wary, that riding an escooter limited to 15.5mph is illegal & likely to get us into trouble even if we are as courteous & otherwise law abiding on the road when using it, (have bought handle bar indicators for it, due to balance on these & the need to signal intent to turn)

I enjoyed riding e-mountainboard, which rode like a snowboard at 40 odd mph (private track compliance)

However, it seems that the law at all levels is an ass, as it is insisting on one thing but allowing big companies to do something completely different, without punishments foisted on the rest of us, & noting that many food couriers (yay, less petrol scooters again) are clearly breaking the law but ignored completely sucks @rse.

I went on a deliveroo partner courier ebike site last night & aske the question, having given the uk area to an "expert" as to whether these could simply take off from the lights without bothering to pedal!? (illegally) .."YES" came the answer, no mention of modification needed, such as a hold down button or twist throttle to circumvent legalities of countries such as the latecomer uk to PEV's

In Cambridge it is predominantly a fleet of big delivery company owned ebikes that are rented out to the couriers, inc group insurance handled by the food company, which may amount to £75 per week (if memory serves)

Thus the fleet is owned by companies, who are being ignored whilst other elements of e-mobility is taken down for non legal compliance
Presumably it is easier to squash the little man than the big company by threats & removal of property, it's not like ebikes are new to the streets for the past 5 years maybe, so the pedal assist is well known, thus my resentment at treatment of private individuals by comparison.

if it is about safety & compliance then it is 2 tiered, I have also spoke to other "wary" ebike riders (who pedal assist) but have more power for private mtb courses such as woburn bedfordshire (ticketed entry) because their bikes stick out & are faster, but ridden normally elsewhere.

[billi]

Code: Select all

The problem is that traditional ICE motorbikes must pay tax, must display number plates, must have insurance, and the rider must pass stringent written and practical tests to be allowed on the road. 

But we are talking about a limited to 25km/h 250 watt motor bike that you have to pedal to move ...

Would be a false move to demand the same regulations as for a say 50 horse powered motorcycle

[Ken]

An element of the argument seems to be its "not fair". Since when was anything "fair"

So motor+ 2 wheels = motorbike - fair enough so what then is a e scooter and why it is illegal to drive a private one on the highway.

Got to be safer than a 2tonne SUV.

Anyway what is the danger of a e-bike. Remembering there is 30 deaths a day on british roads so perhaps more e bike travel would actually be safer ? and how are they much more dangerous than a bicycle. I wonder how the Netherlands is getting on with this issue.

We have to be very carefull not to fall into the trap that everything new is bad and needs a man with a red flag walking in front.

[Gareth J]

There's an in-between category that needs to be created to contain electric things capable of exceeding the current e-bike criteria, but arent near the next category -moped. Current e-bike regulations are really aimed at making an e-bike not significantly more dangerous than a push bike. But in between regulations for something limited to, say, 20mph and 500W would be appropriate. I believe the EU were working on something like this.

[Mr Gus]

An element of the argument seems to be its "not fair". Since when was anything "fair"

So motor+ 2 wheels = motorbike - fair enough so what then is a e scooter and why it is illegal to drive a private one on the highway.

Got to be safer than a 2tonne SUV.

Anyway what is the danger of a e-bike. Remembering there is 30 deaths a day on british roads so perhaps more e bike travel would actually be safer ? and how are they much more dangerous than a bicycle. I wonder how the Netherlands is getting on with this issue.

We have to be very carefull not to fall into the trap that everything new is bad and needs a man with a red flag walking in front.

If Johnson + partygate annoy you as to rule of law applied fairly to all then you should get my point ken,
Or to apply another way, if you were flagged up for doing a tonne whilst another driver was ignored then where is the law, & What is the point of the law of speed limits of not handled fairly?

I've already stated as an owner of both an e bike & an escooter I'm all for them. (Multiple times)