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6 months ago
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Illegal e-bikes that can reach speeds of 40mph are death traps and are even being used on motorways, industry bosses have warned.
Motorcycle manufacturers have claimed that powerful e-bikes are being ridden illegally due to a lack of effective policing.
A group representing Honda, Yamaha, BMW, and other similar companies warned the Government that there is a 'widespread' use of the bikes which are technically mopeds and should be driven with a licence.
The companies have written to Transport Secretary Mark Harper to urge him to launch a review into the issues.
This comes as the Government is considering allowing more powerful versions of the bikes to be driven.
Illegal e-bikes that can hit 40mph are death traps, industry bosses have warned
Two e-bikes are left dumped on the pavement in Whitechapel in November last year
The companies have written to Transport Secretary Mark Harper (pictured) to urge him to launch a review into the issues around dangerous illegal e-bikes
The chief of the Motorcycle Industry Association, Tony Campbell, claimed that the regulations aren't being enforced properly.
He told The Telegraph that people who drive the 'unsafe' illegal e-bikes have 'very little chance' of the police stopping them.
Mr Campbell warned that they aren't tested to the 'same safety standards' as mopeds are.
He said many people will drive them without using helmets and protective gear and labelled them 'death traps', claiming 'people have died using them'.
The chief executive said that sales of the bikes soared during the Covid-19 pandemic when demand for takeaways rose.
He also alleged that they are being used by gangs to mug people and escape easily by slipping down narrow streets.
Vehicles described as e-bikes are being sold online, advertised as reaching speeds of up to 37mph and 2,000 watt motors, according to The Telegraph.
Laws require the rider to pedal, rather than having a button to accelerate, and should be restricted to speeds of 15.5mph.
However, sellers claim their bikes are legal because the accelerator button can be taken off and speeds are limited - but buyers can request these to be removed.
The Telegraph reported that conversion kits can also be purchased which boost power and speed above the legal limit.
While cycling groups say e-bikes encourage people to cycle more often who may be daunted by hills, but police have caught them being misused - even being ridden on motorways.
And the e-bikes - capable of serious injury - are being driven on pavements and cycle lanes too.
This is a 'safety concern for both pedestrians and normal cyclists,' according to Tory MP Iain Stewart, the chairman of the Transport Select Committee.
But the Government has proposed increasing the maximum power permitted for e-bikes - up to 500 watts instead of 250 - saying it would boost sales.
A government spokesperson told The Telegraph it wants all road users to feel safe and it has 'strict laws in place'.
They added: 'Anybody found breaking these rules may be prosecuted by the police.'
It follows the revelation that the number of illegal e-bikes being ridden on the streets of Britain has doubled in the space of just one year.
Police statistics shows that 260 electric powered bicycles were seized by officers last year, double the 130 confiscated in 2022 and four times as many as the 61 which were taken in the year before.
Marcus Beck was one of two teenagers killed in an e-bike crash in Moray, north Scotland
Saul Cookson (pictured) died after his e-bike collided with an ambulance in Salford last year
Sakine Cihan (pictured) died after being knocked down by an e-bike rider in London in 2018
The figures were obtained by The Telegraph from 15 forces following Freedom of Information requests, but the true scale is thought to be much larger as many of England and Wales's 43 police authorities don't collect specific data on these seizures.
Regulations around e-bikes
An e-bike must have a motor with no more than 250 watts of power
It must be restricted to speeds of no more than 15.5mph
They must also require the rider to pedal instead of operated by an accelerator button
Families of those killed in crashes involving the electric vehicles have demanded the Government toughen regulations as the e-bikes become more and more popular, with the daughter of one claiming they have become 'almost impossible to control'.
There have been a number of high profile deaths involving the mode of transport, including last month when two teenage boys were killed in a horror e-bike crash which involved a four-car pile-up near Moray, in north Scotland.
Last year, 15-year-old Saul Cookson died when his e-bike collided with an ambulance in Salford.
Weeks earlier, teenagers Kyrees Sullivan, 16, and Harvey Evans, 15, were killed in Cardiff when the electric bicycle they were riding together crashed.
The devices have also been used in London in numerous acts of anti-social and sometimes criminal behaviour.
Shocking dashcam footage from last year showed one brazen thief using an e-bike as a getaway vehicle after swerving up onto the pavement to steal a woman's phone metres from The Ritz Hotel.
The helpless victim was left crumpled in a heap on the pavement while the criminal sped off, swerving between moving vehicles to get away.
Similar crackdowns have been launched on 'lethal' e-scooters, with thousands seized last year by police as brazen drivers flout rules by riding on pavements and while drunk or high.
A total of 1,111 e-scooters were confiscated across 20 police forces last year after a spate of illegal behaviour by people using the devices.
And the overall figure is likely to be much higher as the remaining 23 constabularies in the UK did not reveal statistics on the seizures.
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