Police seizures of ‘menace’ e-bikes leap 83% in a year
The figures have prompted police, politicians and charities to call for new laws to clamp down on the vehicles which have caused deaths and serious injuries.
An investigation has found that police seizures of e-bikes soared by 83% in a year, as forces crack down on dangerous models.
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Some 7,049 of the bikes were confiscated across the UK in the 12 months to May 19, according to data obtained by the Press Association under freedom-of-information laws.
That is compared with 3,858 during the previous year.
The figures prompted police, politicians and charities to call for new laws to clamp down on the dangerous vehicles which have caused deaths and serious injuries in some cases.
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Sergeant Stuart Ford, who leads the cycle team at City of London Police, described illegal e-bikes as “a menace”.
Labour MP for Carlisle Julie Minns, who has been campaigning for a ban on sales of illegal e-bikes and conversion kits, said they were the “perfect accessory to phone theft, mugging and drug dealing” as well as a danger to motorists and pedestrians as she called on Andy Burnham’s Government to brand them an “unsafe product”.
During a recent e-bike crackdown in Cardiff, South Wales Police arrested four riders on suspicion of drug offences after a man in his 20s was found with 33 wraps of crack cocaine and heroin worth about £1,000.
Under UK law, legal e-bikes are known as electrically assisted pedal cycles (EAPCs) and must meet certain safety regulations such as their electric motor having a maximum power output of 250 watts and cutting out when a speed of 15.5mph is reached.
Many illegal e-bikes confiscated by police have been modified to travel much faster, with some exceeding 70mph.
Non-compliant machines are effectively electric mopeds or motorbikes, which must be registered, taxed and insured.
While major retailers sell thousands of legal e-bikes every year, many illegal machines are bought on the internet.
Kits which add an electronic motor to a conventional bike are available online for under £300.
As well as being used for crime, illegal e-bikes are also often used for legitimate journeys such as food deliveries and commuting.
Thirty-one police forces out of 45 across the UK provided comparable data after PA’s freedom-of-information requests.
The Metropolitan Police was the force which seized the most e-bikes in the year to May 19, with 2,367.
That was ahead of Leicestershire Police (661), Police Scotland (585) and Thames Valley Police (425).
The 11 forces where seizures more than doubled year on year were Devon and Cornwall, Dorset, Hampshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Northumbria, South Yorkshire, Suffolk, Thames Valley and the Police Service of Northern Ireland.
Wiltshire Police said half of its seizures were recorded in Swindon, the town which Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander’s constituency covers.
Last month, the Met carried out an operation to catch illegal e-bike users near Tottenham Court Road station in London’s West End – a hotspot for phone theft and other street crime.
Speaking at the scene, Commander Neerav Patel said Londonders were “fed-up of the criminal and antisocial use of e-bikes”.
The force has started using portable rolling road devices so officers can test an e-bike’s maximum speed using its motor to help them spot illegal machines.
City of London Police seized four of the machines in just half an hour last month.
Mr Ford said some illegal e-bikes are three times heavier than a conventional bike.
“If that was to hit a small child, it can cause serious injuries,” he warned.
Calling for new legislation to deal with illegal e-bike users, he added: “I would like to see specific laws around e-bikes brought in.”
Pedestrian safety charity Living Streets warned “the rise in e-bike use must not come at the expense of people walking” while the Royal National Institute of Blind People said e-bikes are “heavy, fast-moving, silent vehicles” that present a danger when “ridden carelessly”.