Israel National Road Safety Authority has submitted a position paper supporting a minimum age for riders on the increasingly popular battery powered bicycles. The safety authority feels a minimum age of 14 should be set into law for the bicycles. Some experts feel the two-wheeled battery powered bike has become a ‘vehicle’ and there are dangers associated with it. The increasingly popularity is especially evident in cities like Tel Aviv, where a bike is the fastest means of getting around and one does not have to pay insurance and maintenance as one does for motorized two and four-wheeled scooters and cars. The relatively affordable battery powered bikes can be parked anywhere and taken home at day’s end. Hence they continue to increase in popularity in many cities.
Some of the problems surround the fact that riders are moving on sidewalks rather quickly and too many are not wearing any protective gear. These realities pose dangers to riders and pedestrians alike. Officials explain the government guidelines for bikes has not been updated since 2011 and officially speaking, the battery powered bicycles are illegal, admitting no one is planning to launch an enforcement campaign.
It is reported that 6,000-12,000 bikes are being sold annually in addition to people upgrading their old bikes to battery powered and there are many pirate models being bought and made too. Safety officials fear there are too many dangerous electric bikes operating as well.
The road safety authority wants to set guidelines into place that mimic the standard in Europe to guarantee a minimum safety standard. In addition, it wants to set the minimum age of a rider/driver to 14, and limit the maximum speed of the bike to 50 KPH (30 MPH). There would also be a limit as to the motor size as well. The authority feels the bikes must be registered to enable enforcement of regulations and government must define where one may park the electric bikes. The authority’s experts point out that many riders are simply too reckless, weaving in and out of traffic and moving from sidewalks to streets, demanding the government step in to regulate the industry.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
One Response
Social pressure needed to stop brats from harassing pedestrian walkers by riding bicycles on the sidewalk. Ask questions like, “Do you ride a bicycle on the sidewalk?” or “Does your kid ride his bicycle on the sidewalk?”