Wiltshire Police’s Forensic Vehicle Examiner, PC Phil Hackford, explains why this bike is illegal to ride in a public place.
You can ride an electric bike, or an ‘electrically assisted pedal cycle’ (EAPC), without a license or insurance if you’re 14 or over.
To qualify as an EAPC, the bike must:
– Have pedals that you can use to propel it
– Have an electric motor that can run continuously at a maximum power of no more than 250 watts
– Have no electrical assistance once you reach 15.5 miles per hour (mph)
If your electric bike fails to meet any of these requirements it needs to be taxed and insured as either a motorcycle or a moped.
There is more information on what’s required to ride your electric bike legally on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/electric-bike-rules
This is an illegal ebike and let me tell you why. It’s made up of parts purchased from the internet. It has a twistandgo throttle which provides power independent of the pedaling action. The motor is four times the size of the legal requirement. It can be identified by the fact it’s about the size of a dinner plate and has no markings on it. This is a motorcycle and it cannot be ridden in the public place.
32 Comments
These system Apparatschiks have got the correct priorities 😂
It’s illegal….ok so what’s your point?
Tf he wearing 😂
Why do you lot turn a blind eye…we see these everyday ridden by idiots and yet the plocie do nothing abt it.
Isn't there a British person with a opinion you could Nick instead!
I imagine it can be if registered as a motorcycle
Illegal ebike or genius free travel that you don't have to pay taxes on
Cars can go faster than the legal speed limit, but they are not illegal. And before anyone says "why do you need a bike that can go faster than the speed limit if you are only going to go the legal limit". Because if you are more than 10 stone it is impossible to get up steep hills, they struggle off road and it's nice to have faster acceleration.
Why are uber eats, and deliveroo, exempt?
Good!
That is NOT in fact a motorcycle
My legs are nearly paralyzed, so I got a 2-wheel electric scooter with a bicycle seat on it so I could wander the neighborhood and visit my neighbors and friends. Here in the USA it is considered my 'mobility aid' essentially a 2-wheel wheelchair. It has a 500 watt motor, which I thought was powerful enough to take me a block up the hill to visit a friend. But the scooter only makes it about a quarter of the way up the hill before it runs out of power, and my friend has to walk down and push me. So I figure a useful power would be at least a 750W motor. How much is the legal power wherever this video was shot?
Perfect for stealing someone's phone
Yet I see loads of people on electric scooters often on the road and they are also illegal and they're not stopped.
It’s illegal because they can’t make money off it
I bet if an illegal boat person had one NO problem off you go mate . Here is a tenner for you
So what we're still going to ride them catch me if you can
No proper legislation definition, time to seal up all the loop holes to try to prevent unnecessary tragedies happening because of hapless individuals riding ferrel.
Hi viz vest should be worn, personal insurance for any electric powered on street ride on equipment.
How do we let our leaders boss us the way we do ?
Does it say in the actual law “ the size of a dinner plate “ 😂?
Really?
I see them everywhere and nothing is done to get them off the road and be destroyed.
Words without action are empty words.
Obviously their prioritising the important crimes 1st. E bikes ffs! Try solving rape gangs, burglary, vehicle crime van and Lorry thefts, shoplifting and just no good migrants.
Fkn sad.
When I read the UK ebike laws, it said that they limit the maximum wattage and speed of assistance. That means that this video might be inaccurate?
It appears to me that you can build a bike that meets the UK rules with parts from the internet and the size of the motor housing + markings on it doesn't relate to anything (based on a quick 30 mins of research into ebike building online).
Based on the regulations, it appears to me that you'd need to test the bike on a dyno/rolling road to determine if it meets the legal requirements.
The size of the motor and presence of a throttle don't mean the bike can produce power or that the throttle is functional – they may point to the likleyhood of it being against the law though (that seems more like advice the police leadership could give to cops on what bikes they should be checking).
🤡simple!
I would call it a high powered electric moped.
Thank you for your service. I feel safer now.
What's wrong with parts from the Internet???
Wrong, throttles are legal sometimes
Kinda lied a wee bit here to be honest. This can be made legal by dvla as long as it’s tested and pays Road tax, has registration plates put on it and indicators however that’s often not what a lot of these idiots do that use them
Absolute prefect