I think many of you will be aware of what a complex subject electric assist bicycle law is and pitfalls in trying to second guess it. As a result, and with my knowledge of it since joining the trade 70 years ago, I'm often called upon in here to give answers on the subject. But of course I won't always be around and being at the Covid-19 peak vulnerability age I thought it best I record all the information links, clarifications and sources for others to get any answers they need on this subject. Some of necessity is on my web space and I'm making arrangements to ensure that stays online for a decade to make this post a reliable source to bookmark for the pedelec law sources and clarification details.
A legal, bureaucracy free pedelec is a bicycle and never a motor vehicle in relation to any usage laws. Thus laws intended specifically for motor vehicles like national speed limits never apply. There are many local authority and private premises limits that can apply to all bicycles though, and the UK lower age limit of 14 years for riding a pedelec.
1983 EAPC law, only now valid combined with amendments from the 2015 law below
1. These Regulations are made pursuant to section 24 of the Transport Act 1981 (which has been brought into force by the Transport Act 1981 (Commencement No. 9) Order 1983 (S.I. 1983/576 (c.16))). That section provided for the addition to section 103 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1967 (by...
www.legislation.gov.uk
6th April 2015 revisions to EAPC law
Clarification from the above link on the specification plate required on pedelecs
Plate (a) (i) is only for the historic e-bikes from before 6th April 2015.
Plate (a) (ii) is for all pedelecs since that date.
Confirmed as below by James Brown, International Vehicle Standards, Department for Transport:
"As part of the GB EAPC amending legislation, that will come into force on 6 April 2015, the requirement for the marking identification has been amended. Previously a plate showing the manufacturer, maximum continuous rated power output and voltage was necessary, from April 6 2015 the requirement will be that the manufacturer, maximum continuous rated output and maximum assisted cutoff speed shall be marked on the cycle."
This should be in the form of a plate or permanent label bearing all three items of information, mounted in a prominent easily read location on the bicycle.
The 14 years minimum age limit law for riding a pedelec:
www.legislation.gov.uk
Northern Ireland has its own Road Traffic jurisdiction,
though they mainly follow ours. The mainland UK 1983 law as amended by the 2015 law were only adopted from 13th May 2020 in Northern Ireland. They already had the 14 years lowest age limit to ride pedelecs via our above 1988 RTA which they adopted there in their 1995 RTA. They also have the same EU regulations.
Original 2003 Motor Vehicle Type approval law with pedelecs exemption from being a motor vehicle in Article 2.2. (h):
eur-lex.europa.eu
Same thing but 2013 integrated version:
You don't need but may also desire a copy of BS1727 to understand the motor and battery testing and proof of compliance that originally supported the manufacturers data plate declaration of older e-bikes, but I can't let you have that or give you a link, as you need to pay a lot of money for it! It's not necessary to have this though.
The UK is also signed up to the relevant European technical standards for pedelecs, EN15194.
It's what really matters technically. You can download it to read on the link below in my web site:
Also, you may need the Construction & Use regulations for all bicycles, assisted or not:
Walk Assist Throttle
Although the EU has it's own walk assist law with 6kph (3.6 mph) limit, the UK's permitted Walk Assist throttle conditions such as the 4 mph assist limit and use of a self returning thumb throttle were derived from the UK law on pedestrian controlled vehicles which is in multiple parts in various laws relating to motor vehicles.
The use of a walk throttle to get away from a standstill without pedalling while on board appears to be illegal, since a rider either seated on a bike or with a foot on a pedal as in scooting is not a pedestrian, as ruled by Waller L J in the Court of Appeal, (Crank v Brooks [1980] RTR 441). The many complexities that can occur in passing such legislation you might find interesting or just plain irritating in the debate in the House of Lords on the link below:
PEDESTRIAN CONTROLLED VEHICLES REGULATIONS 1963 (Hansard, 29 May 1963)
hansard.millbanksystems.com
National law on conditional use of all bicycles on the pavements: (two Links)
1) ride facing oncoming traffic. 2) ride with oncoming traffic. Today around 8.30am I had a walk into town and was looking up at a house fire rebuild in progress so not really taking note of where I was going. As I aproach a street light that narrowed the path I was unaware of a cyclist heading...
www.pedelecs.co.uk
Law permitting riding bicycles and pedelecs on Bridlepaths/ Bridleways:
An Act to enlarge the functions of the Agency established under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949, to confer new powers on local authorities and other bodies for the conservation and enhancement of natural beauty and for the benefit of those resorting to the countryside...
www.legislation.gov.uk
This Countryside Act 1968 unusually only covered two wheeled bicycles, whereas most UK Bicycle law refers to Bicycles, Tricycles and Bicycles with four or more wheels. However, the government backed SUSTRANS organisation has since gained permission for pedelec Tricycles to use bridlepaths too. Still no permission for Quad pedelecs though.
Getting legal permission to have a fully acting "Twist and Go" throttle on a pedelec:
The Motorcycle Single Vehicle Approval test now includes a sub-category for "Twist and go" electric bikes, which require type approval as Single Vehicle Approval (SVA), but which can otherwise be used like other normal pedelecs. Fewer modifications will now be needed for these machines to pass the test and gain type approval. The MSVA test costs £55 per individual vehicle.
Each individual bike must pass the Motorcycle Single Vehicle Approval (MSVA) test. This provides UK-specific type approval (i.e. it is not valid in other EU countries) and the DfT regard these as legal bureaucracy free pedelecs.
The new class for Twist & Go EAPCs is called "250W LPM", a sub-category of the standard "Low Powered Moped", which is the L1e-A category which T&G EAPCs fell into before. The new edition of the test manual reduces the requirements somewhat for this new sub-category. For example, a kickstand is still required, but it does not have to auto-retract. Moped-like mirrors are now not required, etc., etc. Basically almost any legal pedelec meets the requirements, but check the PDF manual linked to below:
Grandfather Rights
The old 1983 EAPC regulations did not specify how pedelec power was to be applied, leaving the door open for any method including fully acting throttles. However the 2015 amendments to EU law barred such throttles, power only allowed by pedalling to be truly assist in nature. By convention though, existing machines from before 1st January 2016 had Grandfather Rights to remain as they were, this confirmed by a prior DfT statement of intentions at a joint consultation meeting with the industry and police on 13th April 2013.
HOWEVER
Be aware that to claim Grandfather Rights the pedelec should conform to the 1983 law in its entirety, and that means an assist power rating of 200 watts or less. Unfortunately most of the e-bikes supplied in the UK from the early 2000s to 2016 were 250 watts rated like the current law as a result of a DfT error in 2003, so technically they cannot legally have Grandfather Rights. However this legal nicety is unlikely to be a subject for challenge by any authority since the DfT didn't specify it when describing Grandfather Rights in that meeting. For the details on that 2003 DfT error see below:
The Evolution of a Power Rating problem
Back at 9th May 2003 the EU issued the two and three wheeled type approval law 2002/24/EU which contained the 2.2.(h) exemption for pedelecs to not be considered motor vehicles and thus remain bicycles. That specified these conditions to benefit from the exemption:
"(h) pedal cycles with pedal assistance which are equipped with an auxiliary electric motor having a maximum continuous rated power of less than or equal to 250 W, where the output of the motor is cut off when the cyclist stops pedalling and is otherwise progressively reduced and finally cut off before the vehicle speed reaches 25 km/h "
That type approval law was mandatory for all EU member nations and the regulation was accompanied by an order that all conflicting national law had to be removed within six months. Our UK law did conflict since it limited power to 200 watts, but the DfT passed the new EU regulation into law through parliament on 10th November 2003
without removing our conflicting law. The mandatory order is no longer available online from the EU but I copied and pasted the text and you can read it on this link:
www.pedelecs.co.uk/flecc/eu_directive.rtf
So from then on we appeared to have two conflicting laws, the UK law saying 200 watts, the EU 250 watts. In fact as an EU member the EU law always took precedence in our courts, but the DfT when asked wrongly said it was a matter for the courts in their muddled October 2005 document below:
www.pedelecs.co.uk/flecc/EAPC_guidelines.pdf
From 1999 the Japanese makers like Yamaha and Panasonic had wrongly assumed Britain also had EU law at that time, so supplied 250 watts anyway, with the Chinese and others following likewise, hence the twelve year legal tangle from 2003 to 2015.
E-Scooters
At the time of writing it appears these may be given limited legalisation shortly, but meanwhile machines resembling a child's scooter, but which are fitted with either an electric motor or an internal combustion engine, have been determined by two High Court judgements to be motor vehicles within the meaning of The Road Traffic Act 1988. Therefore not electric assist bikes. You will see this on page three in the EAPC guidelines linked to just above.
Kit Motors
Be aware that hardly any of the above applies to kits or any home construction, the regulations only being for manufactured pedelecs. So both individuals and suppliers operate in a legal vacuum in which all try to supply and/or use as closely conforming to the complete e-bike law as they can, trusting that is acceptable. That has always worked throughout all of Europe and the UK without any mention of a possible prosecution, providing the three main points of the law are adhered to, i.e. 250 watts maximum assist, 15.5 mph maximum assist speed and power only when pedalling.
However, I can tell you the legal way of dealing with a kit, athough no-one has ever done it:
1) Buy and fit the motor kit.
2) Make an appointment at an approved vehicle testing station, paying the £55 test fee.
3) Most often the purpose of this is to get an SVA (Single Vehicle Approval), entitling it for use as a type approved motor vehicle. However your intention will be to get the inspector to agree that it meets the pedelec requirements so is exempt from being a motor vehicle and is approved as a pedelec.
However, if you get and accept SVA approval as well at the same time, as specified earlier in getting legal permission, you will be able to have a fully acting throttle on a post December 2015 pedelec with it still considered a bureaucracy free pedelec, a bonus. I repeat though, no-one to my knowedge has ever done this to create a kit pedelec so it's never been necessary, but it is the DfT specified correct way when creating any motorised vehicle from more than one vehicle or from parts.
N.B. The DfT is increasingly referring to SVA as IVA (Individual Vehicle Approval), so you might need this for online linking in future.
In summary, legislators don't like kits, too many variables, so avoid their mention like the plague. Mainland Europe killed the kit car industry long ago and our laws have damaged it here too, so we are perhaps lucky that the lawyers don't pay attention to our little pedelec kit niche.
Powered Trailers
There is no law here or in the EU permitting powered trailers following a bicycle, whether pushing it or not, so the status of such a combination is even more difficult than that of kits. However there are very small numbers of such trailers on the road both here and in some parts of Europe, especially The Netherlands, so it appears to be another "blind eye" subject like kit bikes. Do it with fingers crossed. Alternatively you could permanently couple the trailer and bike as one vehicle and take the outfit through Single Vehicle Approval as a tricycle pedelec or quad pedelec.
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