UK law on e-bicycles and scooters is a mess. But the police are now, it seems, trying to do something about the more egregious breaches in the legal mishmash surrounding the new urban mobility kit – by seizing illegal high-powered e-bikes. The law limits the top speed of electrically assisted bicycles to 15.5mph. If a bike can operate without being pedalled, then it’s legally viewed as a motorcycle, so it needs type approval, registration, VED, MOT, insurance and licence to go with it.
So police across the country have been setting traps for users of illicit machinery, stopping bicycles that are too fast or magically traversing steep hills without the rider pedalling. ITV news recently reported on an e-bicycle seized in the City of London that could do 70mph and had 6000 miles on the odometer!
Out of 46 police forces, 27 responded to a recent freedom of information request. The figures revealed an 83% increase in seizures over the past year. The majority of offenses appear to be linked to courier and food delivery riders. While the riders themselves may face charges for various road traffic offenses, most forces opt to confiscate and destroy the bikes instead.
The real root of the problem – the lack of a modern legal structure around new urban mobility machinery – doesn’t seem likely to change any time soon, because there is still no sign of a Transport Bill from the UK government to put e-scooter and e-bicycle use on a proper footing.