By seized by police!

[gsm.terra]

Obviously this was an April fool

Stopped by Police on the shared path between Davidson Main and Barnton at 8:35pm last night, complaints about kids on electric scooters speeding along the paths, dodging dogs and their walkers....

The Police asked me why I wasn’t wearing a proper motorbike helmet, and no registration plates on my bike!! They insisted that my electric bike is classed as a moped, even though it has paddles, is limited to 25kph and the motor is 250w as per the regulations for “Pedelecs”

Bike seized!! Charged with driving a motor vehicle without a proper helmet, tax, insurance, L plates or CBT certificate...

The law one bikes is quoted below, I tried in vain to show them the government regulations on my phone, and was told to stop “obstructing the police”

I’m back home now, phoning our lawyer in a bit... still shaken anc without bike (which was bought legally from Decathlon!)

I’ve quoted the law below... Some copper is going to get her knuckles rapped over this, I’m absolutely fuming....

You can ride an electric bike if you’re 14 or over, as long as it meets certain requirements.

These electric bikes are known as ‘electrically assisted pedal cycles’ (EAPCs). You do not need a licence to ride one and it does not need to be registered, taxed or insured.

What counts as an EAPC
An EAPC must have pedals that can be used to propel it.

It must show either:

the power output
the manufacturer of the motor
It must also show either:

the battery’s voltage
the maximum speed of the bike
Its electric motor:

must have a maximum power output of 250 watts
should not be able to propel the bike when it’s travelling more than 15.5mph
An EAPC can have more than 2 wheels (for example, a tricycle).

Where you can ride
If a bike meets the EAPC requirements it’s classed as a normal pedal bike. This means you can ride it on cycle paths and anywhere else pedal bikes are allowed.

 

[Nealh]

Sounds like they haven't clue and heavy handed know it all policing, a bollocking and an apology is needed from the head man their, looks like Cheshire area ?
I would be down there pronto and demand to see the head honcho and quoting pedelec law as well as showing them it, hopefully you also have the jumped up shites name and uniform number to make a complaint.

 

[sjpt]

Good luck with getting things sorted a.s.a.p. I'm sure you'll keep us posted.

I can see that the police can't all be fully versed in all aspects of the law, but if they send somebody out explicitly to check on illegal behaviour (the kids on electric scooters) they should at least make sure they are up to date on the relevant parts of the law.

 

[Deleted member 33385]

Very sorry to hear about your bike being seized. I went out shopping for the first time in months two nights ago, and as I was walking, I was stealthily overtaken on the pavement by a guy on an electric scooter with a seat. He was stood upright, pushing himself along with his feet, while using a throttle to get up the hill - no lights, no bell, he was all dressed in black. Scooter guys put us legal pedelecers under the spotlight.

What sort of bike do you have?

Does your bike have a throttle? If so, is it limited to 6km/h?

Is your bike de-restricted?

Is your bike's top speed adjustable beyond 15.5mph?

Is your bike motor clearly labelled with power, voltage and maximum speed? I bought some labels on ebay - hope they work to keep thicker cops at bay.

Did you record your interaction with the Police on your phone or action camera? I'm never without an action camera these days, and I record audio of anything official using my phone, including all of my phone calls.

Whenever I see a Police car, I start pedalling furiously, to make the point that it's a bicycle. My camera is highly visible, on the chin of my BMX helmet, in case of any loss of balance on Police station staircases...

If they don't drop the charges, I can't see how their case could hold up in court - that must be obvious to anyone of higher rank at the Cop Shop.

Please keep us posted.

 

[MichaelM]

That is shocking. Should have stuck to the electric scooters.

I'm not anti-police, but a couple of encounters I've had suggest that there is no minimum intelligence requirement.

When you've got the bike back, I'd be inclined to invoke the official complaints procedure and get the local press interested if you can. They'll never sort themselves out otherwise.

 

[georgehenry]

Oh gsm.terra I am so sorry to hear of this.

The Police have made a mistake.

Hopefully it should not be too hard to make them realise this.

I don't know how hard this would be, but it might be fun to counter charge them.

Scottish law has some differences to English law.

I would certainly consider a civil action against them like a personal injury/compensation claim when they have come to their senses, acknowledged they are in error, and you have got your bike back.

pedelec member flecc is extremely knowledgeable about all the legal niceties of electric bike law.

 

[Nealh]

GH say's this is in Jockland, in which case I have heard they are worse then some of our idiots.

 

[Deleted member 33385]

 

[Deleted member 33385]

ARISE PEDELECERS!

 

[soundwave]

plod has lost the plot lol

 

[Deleted member 33385]

plod has lost the plot lol

Wow, what sort of bike was he riding?

 

[soundwave]

the bbc said he sent a bomb threat with no proof at all so raided his hut lol

 

[Deleted member 33385]

the bbc said he sent a bomb threat with no proof at all so raided his hut lol

They don't need any proof at all these days, not for that sort of thing. His haircut is the real crime.

 

[soundwave]

They don't need any proof at all these days, not for that sort of thing. His haircut is the real crime.

 

[Deleted member 33385]

 

[jimriley]

Priti said she will back the police, right or wrong.

 

[Scorpio]

The police are not doing themselves any favours these days, about 5 years ago (normal bike not electric), I was stopped (5pm on a wet Sunday in February) for cycling at walking pace in a town centre - all shopppers and pedestrians were indoors where it was warm and dry so paths were deserted. I put a complaint in to the local police station and got told the officers could have siezed my bike as I was riding on the pavement which is illegal.
By contrast, hooligans riding bikes through crowds on busy shopping days are ignored by the pollice.

Edit after seeing the post above by @jimriley - I went to the police station to make my compaint, the the first words from the sergent who took my details was "I support my officers 100%". It makes a mockery of the compaints procedure when the investigating officer starts with an opinion like that .

 

[jokskot]

Priti said she will back the police, right or wrong.

Boris is sticking with Priti

 

[Zlatan]

I, ve been saying for years now it's only a matter of time before we are all stopped from riding any form of ebike/pedelec. Poor old plod can't be expected to know difference between a perfectly legal pedelec or one with a dongle or one with a 1500 w motor on both wheels.
Simple solution... Ban the lot.
I posted a couple of months ago some idiots riding Surons (6kw versions) both on road and on mtb paths. No tax, no insurance, no registration, and telling plod they could..
We should have been self policing... Yep, hopefully plod will have made a mistake on this instance but idiots on electric motorbikes hiding behind us will end the lot.
Anybody riding bikes over 250w should get them registered as mopeds... They ain't pedelec and we all know it.

 

[FatBob]

Wow!

The bit that gets me is the OP tried to get the PC to check the actual law, but was threatened with obstruction. It may just about be accepted that PCs cannot be expected to recall the detail of every piece of legislation, but if someone says "here, constable, I genuinely believe I am acting within law. Please just check the letter of the law online on my phone" and /she just point-blank refuses then sadly and reluctantly my respect for the police has to be eroded a little bit.

What on earth have they got to lose by taking a minute or two double-checking their understanding of the law? If it's pride, then they do themselves no favours and only solidify the cheap stereotype of the jumped up little authoritarian throwing around their weight and abusing their powers and who, without the uniform, would likely be one of society's sad losers.