A delivery driver in north London suffered life-changing injuries when his e-bike caught fire while chargingA government plan to double the maximum legal power of e-bikes has drawn warnings that it could increase the risk of severe battery fires and other injuries.which would also allow e-bikes that don't require pedalling to travel much faster.But critics said the plans posed safety risks..
Campaign group Electrical Safety First said: "Substandard e-bike batteries are already causing devastating fires across the country."Currently the motors of e-bikes - or electrically assisted pedal cycles as they are officially known - must not exceed 250 watts.It is also consulting on increasing the top speed that users on e-bikes with throttles can travel, to 15.5mph up from 3.73mph at the moment.
But Volt, which makes e-bikes, said the plan to boost the power would "attract unsafe batteries and potentially encourage users to tamper with them". Campaign group Cycling UK said the main reason more people don't cycle was that they don't feel safe on the roads."The dramatically increased power would mean faster acceleration and much heavier bikes, which we're really concerned about," said Cycling UK's director of external affairs, Sarah McMonagle.
The Bicycle Association, which represents the UK cycle industry, said it was concerned the proposals could legitimise the process of tampering with e-bikes to boost their power - with a higher potential power leading to "possibly very serious fire safety consequences".
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: roadcc - 🏆 21. / 71 Read more »
Source: bikerumor - 🏆 65. / 61 Read more »
Source: bikerumor - 🏆 65. / 61 Read more »
Source: bikerumor - 🏆 65. / 61 Read more »
Source: roadcc - 🏆 21. / 71 Read more »
Source: bikerumor - 🏆 65. / 61 Read more »