Dont worry about whether your bike is strictly legal,just enjoy it, if a police car is following you it would be fairly obvious to you,just keep the speed reasonable below 20 mph,even if you were going faster it would be almost impossible to prove the motor and not your pedalling had achieved this.i really cannot see the police looking out for electric bikes exceeding the limits though,and very much doubt they would even notice an e bike from a normal bike.
new regulations
- Thread starter fishingpaul
- Start date
thats not the problem..
problem can be when an accident happens.. (a serious one)
they will investigate all remains of your bike and when they then notice that your bike was too strong, you were not driving a bike but a
motorized vehicle without licence...
and then it can become very serious
in a bad case it can cost all your money, it can destroy your financiel life
(my English is not good enough, sorry)
--> iam not 100% sure about all this, but i was told that in German forum when asking questions about my pusher-trailer-project..
problem can be when an accident happens.. (a serious one)
they will investigate all remains of your bike and when they then notice that your bike was too strong, you were not driving a bike but a
motorized vehicle without licence...
and then it can become very serious
in a bad case it can cost all your money, it can destroy your financiel life
(my English is not good enough, sorry)
--> iam not 100% sure about all this, but i was told that in German forum when asking questions about my pusher-trailer-project..
You are absolutely correct, kraeuterbutter. There is little need to worry about the police anywhere in the EU. Even if they do detect an illegality in the machine, the fines will be nothing compared with the compensation you will not receive from insurance companies who will seize on every possible way of evading a payout.
I had an accident recently with my bike written off.
The police showed no interest in the fact that it was electric.
The insurance company assessor knew nothing about electric bikes and simply paid for the cost of replacement.
So until someone reports an experience to the contrary, don't worry, just enjoy your bike!
The police showed no interest in the fact that it was electric.
The insurance company assessor knew nothing about electric bikes and simply paid for the cost of replacement.
So until someone reports an experience to the contrary, don't worry, just enjoy your bike!
as said: on a serious accident..
you drive through a town, 30mph with your pimped-up-electric-non-legal motor
a child comes out between two cars, you have to dodge
and because of that cause a serious accident (somebody is SERIOUSLY hurt or even dies)
than they will very closley look on your bike...
than it will be come a problem
just an example:
iam a rc-modellplane pilot
when i crash -> **** happens..
when i crash in a parked car and damage it -> **** happens... in worst case i have to pay by myself some 1000 euros..
but in hungery last year a rc-airplane crashed into the audience
--> two people died !
the plane was confiscated by police and investigated by accident assessor.
a hard time for the pilot of course..
and now imagine he would have used illegal components on the plane
(for example another frequenz than allowed because he wanted to have no stress with others who maybe also use that frequence --> this would have ended VERY VERY seriously for his life)
you drive through a town, 30mph with your pimped-up-electric-non-legal motor
a child comes out between two cars, you have to dodge
and because of that cause a serious accident (somebody is SERIOUSLY hurt or even dies)
than they will very closley look on your bike...
than it will be come a problem
just an example:
iam a rc-modellplane pilot
when i crash -> **** happens..
when i crash in a parked car and damage it -> **** happens... in worst case i have to pay by myself some 1000 euros..
but in hungery last year a rc-airplane crashed into the audience
--> two people died !
the plane was confiscated by police and investigated by accident assessor.
a hard time for the pilot of course..
and now imagine he would have used illegal components on the plane
(for example another frequenz than allowed because he wanted to have no stress with others who maybe also use that frequence --> this would have ended VERY VERY seriously for his life)
I agree. In cases of serious personal injury or death, the approach of the police traffic department and insurance companies is radically different and often very thorough.
As Kraeuterbutter says, the consequences can be very serious for anyone operating outside the law, especially if they are judged to have been a full or partial cause of the accident.
.
As Kraeuterbutter says, the consequences can be very serious for anyone operating outside the law, especially if they are judged to have been a full or partial cause of the accident.
.
...and just how may people (out of thousands) have been in trouble for having illegally de-restricted mopeds...?
I don't have insurance for my e-bike and I dare say that most on this forum don't for theirs either. If we have an accident which is our fault then we have to suffer the financial consequences no matter what we are riding.
Insurance for our own material loss is a different matter from public liability insurance for damage and injury we cause to others. The latter could result in a claim for millions, and there is no point in saying you have no assets, because you will be pursued for the rest of your life, wages arrested every month, and any windfalls, lottery wins, legacies, etc., seized.
when you have an accident with an moped faster than 65km/h (because it was tuned) (thats the tolerance-limit in austria)
and you are the cause for the accident, then - it sounds very distasteful - hope that the child/person you hit dies !
a female classmate from my mother had an accident with car ~20-30 years ago when she was a young woman:
she is still paying for that mentally and physical disabled child (from the accident) from that time..
she is distrained to minimum-life-standards-money (don´t know how you call that) as long as the child lives..
it sounds very hard: but when the little child would have died at the accident, the thing maybe would have been forgotten meanwhile..
but thats not the point: the point is: such things can destroy your life !
don´t know if its also that way in britain, but here in Austria...
---------------------
another example here some km from where i live:
Außergewöhnlicher Prozess wird fortgesetzt - oesterreich.ORF.at
the crane operator made a mistake when assembling the crane on a construction site.
the company for which he worked sued him for 142.000 EURO for repairing the crane!
when he got the bill he didn´t find any way out then killing himself (this was 2004) !
and now: the company tried to get the money from the family of the crane operator !!
end of 2007 was the end of the process after expert's reports and counter expert's reports...
end of the story: also the crane operator is meanwhile dead for 3 years the family has to pay ! (not the whole 142.000 Euro but enough)
well.. its not the same.. but when you kill a child with an tuned motorcycle or a 1500Watt electric-bike.. huhu... not good
and you are the cause for the accident, then - it sounds very distasteful - hope that the child/person you hit dies !
a female classmate from my mother had an accident with car ~20-30 years ago when she was a young woman:
she is still paying for that mentally and physical disabled child (from the accident) from that time..
she is distrained to minimum-life-standards-money (don´t know how you call that) as long as the child lives..
it sounds very hard: but when the little child would have died at the accident, the thing maybe would have been forgotten meanwhile..
but thats not the point: the point is: such things can destroy your life !
don´t know if its also that way in britain, but here in Austria...
---------------------
another example here some km from where i live:
Außergewöhnlicher Prozess wird fortgesetzt - oesterreich.ORF.at
the crane operator made a mistake when assembling the crane on a construction site.
the company for which he worked sued him for 142.000 EURO for repairing the crane!
when he got the bill he didn´t find any way out then killing himself (this was 2004) !
and now: the company tried to get the money from the family of the crane operator !!
end of 2007 was the end of the process after expert's reports and counter expert's reports...
end of the story: also the crane operator is meanwhile dead for 3 years the family has to pay ! (not the whole 142.000 Euro but enough)
well.. its not the same.. but when you kill a child with an tuned motorcycle or a 1500Watt electric-bike.. huhu... not good
Of course I have public liability insurance which covers me for just about any activity in or outside the house (other than motor vehicle use which is separately insured).
Most house insurance in the UK provides public liability cover for the insurer and members of the family at the same address. And the CTC provides it automatically for all members (including those who use electrically assisted pedal cycles).
Most house insurance in the UK provides public liability cover for the insurer and members of the family at the same address. And the CTC provides it automatically for all members (including those who use electrically assisted pedal cycles).
Interesting point. As we live in tied accomodation we don't have house insurance - so no public liability cover. Couldn't afford it anyway on our income - So once again the low paid get screwed
.
I wasn't even thinking of the financial consequences. Using an e-bike illegally usually means it's a motor vehicle being used without insurance, registration and everything else that should have been in place. That often means goodbye to any driving licence held, which for many could mean lost employment as well.
Those are serious consequences.
.
Crikey, I've been so concerned with insuring my bike against theft, I never gave third party insurance a second thought. I've just checked and Cycleguard do £1million cover for about £20 a year. Has anyone else considered this? I'm guessing that if I get into an accident and it's my fault it'll be a top of the range sports car worth a fortune (I know how my luck goes!), so without the insurance I'd have to pay the costs to replace/fix the car? Is that right?
Liability
@Krauterbutter:
I must say you have very strange rules in Austria. In Denmark it is always the employers responsability what his employees do, since he has the ultimate right to fire them if they don't do what he says.
Even in case of accidents, where the worker has clearly broken the rules stated by the employer and the law, the worker gets compensation for his wounds and the employer gets a fine or even prison for not enforcing the rules.
The philosophy is that it must always backfire on the employer if he tries to bend the rules to get the work done cheaper/faster.
On the other side, the employer can dismiss the worker without notice if he refuses to follow the rules of safety.
@Krauterbutter:
I must say you have very strange rules in Austria. In Denmark it is always the employers responsability what his employees do, since he has the ultimate right to fire them if they don't do what he says.
Even in case of accidents, where the worker has clearly broken the rules stated by the employer and the law, the worker gets compensation for his wounds and the employer gets a fine or even prison for not enforcing the rules.
The philosophy is that it must always backfire on the employer if he tries to bend the rules to get the work done cheaper/faster.
On the other side, the employer can dismiss the worker without notice if he refuses to follow the rules of safety.
I sometimes put the yes or no, then a short string of full stops Simon, anything to defeat the system.
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