Even Labour government ministers recognise the problems with e-bikes, however Labour controlled Westminster Council still continues to ignore the problem.
This article originally appeared in the Standard on 7 January. You can read in full here.
Police in London are being urged by the Government to seize e-bikes being ridden dangerously.
Transport minister Lilian Greenwood said police forces across the country should be taking action to tackle the use of e-bikes on pavements, being ridden too fast, or having been illegally adapted.
Unveiling the Government’s new road safety strategy, she stressed on Wednesday:
Everyone who is on a vehicle, including e-bikes and e-scooters needs to obey the rules of the road, needs to be respectful of other road users, and needs to act in a responsible manner.
Some of the people who are riding e-bikes will be riding illegal e-bikes.
The Nottingham South MP emphasised on LBC Radio that she had spoken to her local police force about dealing with the threat from e-bikes being ridden dangerously.
I’ve been concerned that we are seeing some people riding e-bikes and e-scooters on pavements which they shouldn’t be, or riding at too greater speed, she added.
There are some illegal e-bikes which are effectively an electric motorbike.
Police authorities and police forces already have the powers that they need to seize those bikes and to take action and I do hope that like in Nottinghamshire they will take action to take those people off the road when they are acting in a dangerous and anti-social way.
The Government’s new road safety strategy proposed reducing the alcohol limit in for novice motorists and those within their two-year probation period from 80mg per 100ml of blood to around 20mg.
For all other drivers, the level would be cut by around half.
Ms Greenwood stressed that this would effectively mean people would have to decide whether to drink or drive on an evening out.
The road safety strategy also proposes to require some convicted drink-drivers to have alcolocks fitted to their vehicles, and new powers to suspend driving licences for people suspected of drink or drug-driving offences.
Other planned measures to be consulted on include introducing mandatory sight tests once drivers reach 70, a minimum learning period for new drivers, and a crackdown on uninsured drivers and illegal number plates.
The strategy. which is the first of its kind in more than a decade, aims to reduce deaths and serious injuries on Britain’s roads by 65% by 2035, and by 70% for children under 16.
The number of people killed on Britain’s roads has generally declined since the 1970s but the decrease has slowed from 2010.
This article originally appeared in the Standard on 7 January. You can read in full here.
