Update on N.I. e-bike regs.

[mike killay]

Ted, I feel for you both, but NI is staggeringly full of squabbling bickering idiot politicians frothing at the mouth over flags and imagined slights.
(Actually Wales is not much better. Here it is the language which now by law must be thrust into every corner of the land regardless of the wishes of the people.
I HATE fervent nationalists and wish them to the Devil.
Near me, an English speaking school has been transformed overnight into an all Welsh speaking school by dictat of the local authority.
Result?
People are now thinking of moving away.
Poets, teachers, priests and politicians cause the vast bulk of all our problems, just to feed their own vanities and egos.)

 

[egroover]

Ted, this sucks, I feel for you too. Perhaps a rally of all of NI's Ebikers riding up to Stormount or something...would they arrest you all with all the publicity that would bring about ?

 

[tommie]

Ted, the Secretary of State has now got the ball rolling as to providing our local Budget. Whatever way you look at it this is in effect Direct Rule. There shouldn`t now be anything to stop her bringing in ebike legislation to line up with the rest of GB.
Problem is this is not really a high priority issue in the grand scheme of things.
However if we keep pestering Jeffrey, Ian et al you never know we may get somewhere.

 

[TedG]

Yes Egroover, this idea is floating around but the logistics of it is something of a problem. Conventional bicycles can be transported with relative ease on roof racks and boot racks but the weight of a decent e-bike will cause a problem or three in actually getting them from the four corners of this bit of the UK to Stormont (where nobody works or is interested)
I have no idea how to find out but although we saw a dozen or so in our initial 1000 miles I would like to know just how many ebikes are actually here in use. I'm not sure there are many.
It would seem that quite a few defiant riders are obviously not concerned about this active law and therefore would see no need to make their way to some sort of a demonstration.
Conventional cyclists by and large here "tolerate" ebikes, ( we have been scorned - is that too strong a word? by the lycra guys) and even the dealers seem to be and have been selling them somewhat reluctantly so I feel that unlike the e-bikers in the rest of the UK the Pedelec revolution here hasn't really taken off so I fear for a dozen of determined souls who would circle City Hall and be ridiculed for what could turn out to be a futile gesture after a lot of effort by those of us who struggle at the best of times.
We need an enthusiastic dealer who takes our plight seriously to organise something on a pretty decent scale to be effective, but this excellent product is certainly a niche market.

 

[TedG]

Ted, the Secretary of State has now got the ball rolling as to providing our local Budget. Whatever way you look at it this is in effect Direct Rule. There shouldn`t now be anything to stop her bringing in ebike legislation to line up with the rest of GB.
Problem is this is not really a high priority issue in the grand scheme of things.
However if we keep pestering Jeffrey, Ian et al you never know we may get somewhere.

Ah there you are Tommie lad, still cycling and defying the laws of gravity and indeed the laws of this convoluted land. Good on you.
I have had replies from Steven Agnew and indeed Sir Jeffrey who say similar things, but basically that their hands are tied regarding actually getting this nightmare signed off after 23 years.
Trust me I have written seriously detailed letters to them all including the new SOS outlining the fact that these are not mopeds and do not require registration to class them as such.
I did this with some strength because the replies I was getting seemed to suggest that "legislation was being implemented at speed to confirm the registration process" - WHAT - Who asked for that?
We don't want a registration process for a bicycle!
Which part of bicycle do they not understand?
We are cyclists, some of us with health issues - and did you notice how sunny it was today?
Our local roads are awash with lycra and I am grounded and in a bad mood.

 

[tommie]

the replies I was getting seemed to suggest that "legislation was being implemented at speed to confirm the registration process" - WHAT - Who asked for that?

What?!!
Don`t like the sound of that.
Can`t they understand that all we need is a mirror of what is presently in the rest of GB?!!
Is this really so hard to understand?

 

[TedG]

What?!!
Don`t like the sound of that.
Can`t they understand that all we need is a mirror of what is presently in the rest of GB?!!
Is this really so hard to understand?

You'll have to trust me that this response last week is genuine and from high in Stormont so perhaps my persistence is finally getting through re parity with the rest of the UK.

"Thank you for your recent correspondence by email regarding the legislative changes that are required to bring Northern Ireland into line with the rest of the UK in terms of e-bike regulations.
As the Northern Ireland Assembly has not met now for over a year, and this matter is a devolved issue, it has not been possible to secure the legislative change that is required. There are a number of key changes to legislation that are currently required and it is therefore essential for the Secretary of State and the Government at Westminster to intervene and ensure that these decisions are taken and that the necessary legislative changes are made by Parliament at Westminster in the absence of a devolved Assembly.
Please be assured that we will continue to press the case for this legislation to be taken forward by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and her Ministerial colleagues at Westminster in the absence of a functioning Assembly. It is unfair that cyclists in Northern Ireland are not able to benefit from the same type of regulations that apply in other parts of the UK.
With kind regards,
Yours sincerely"

 

[TedG]

And another one - genuine and unaltered.
I would appreciate it if others would join me in writing to the SOS as suggested because the issue is going to lose credibility if all the correspondence is simply from a couple of pensioners. Any help from forum members would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks Ted.

"Thank you for your email and I hope you are well.
With regard to the ebikes issues, it is legislative change that is required. Technically, this is still an issue that is the responsibility of the devolved government, to be passed by devolved politicians. However, due to the current political situation at the Northern Ireland Assembly this cannot happen. In the absence of the Assembly, I am happy to write to Karen Bradley MP, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland to raise this issue with her. You may wish to do the same. Her contact details are as follows"
Rt Hon Karen Bradley
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Stormont House
Belfast Northern IrelandBT4 3SH

I will be in touch as soon as I hear anything,

Kind regards,

I would appreciate it if others would join me in writing to the SOS as suggested because the issue is going to lose credibility if all the correspondence is simply from a couple of pensioners. Any help from forum members would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks Ted.

 

[tommie]

I would appreciate it if others would join me in writing to the SOS as suggested because the issue is going to lose credibility if all the correspondence is simply from a couple of pensioners. Any help from forum members would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks Ted.

Appreciate your efforts Ted.
Indeed any input from more knowledgeable forum members in here could go a long way in bringing NI into line with the rest of GB.

as well as the address you quoted at Stormont i`ve found this email address which would be quicker and more direct possibly.

karen.bradley.mp@parliament.uk

Secretary of State for N.I.

 

[TedG]

Cheers Tommie, however I remember finding a similar email address for the previous SOS and it turned out to be the address of the constituency which he represented rather than the SOS position.
Correct me as necessary.
Thanks for your comments and support.

 

[mike killay]

The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.



Dear Ms Bradley, I am sure that by now you are well aware that because of the situation regarding governance in NI, electric bikes are considered to be motor cycles in NI.



In the rest of the UK and Europe, they are legally considered to be pedal cycles.


This makes a huge difference when it comes to matters such as number plates, construction and use, and use on shared footpaths.


The legal situation only came about because the non existent government in NI were unable to ratify the EU directive relating to electric cycles, leaving the Northern Irish, alone amongst their fellow Britons, unable to enjoy the considerable benefits of electric cycling.


Could I prevail upon you as Secretary of State to use your powers to fill an obvious gap in the government of the province and ensure that the EU directive is obeyed?

Sent today.

 

[TedG]

Well done Mike. Really appreciate your efforts to help us with our plight here in this grossly unstable part of the UK.
That is an excellent letter.
Many thanks.

 

[Damian.Doherty]

Hi Ted, you are of course completely right. Around 90% of my commute is on the roads and for the short distance that I am on a shared cycle/pedestrian path I slow right down for fear of accidentally clipping someone.

I simply meant to address the legal ramifications of riding an ebike in NI. I wanted to reassure all the other ebikers out there that the PSNI are not out to get us.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I ride right past a police station everyday on my commute, often there are plod standing outside or copcars coming and going, I often wave and get a wave back. At this point I'm almost inviting a cop to ask me about the bike just to get their view on the whole situation.

Now that the hard working MLA's are getting another well deserved pay rise in April maybe they will finally get back to work and pass this law and then we won't have to worry about it any more......in time for the summer would be good Ted eh!

 

[TedG]

Hi Damian, interesting post and I am pleased that you are still mobile.
I am 67 and have had an eventful life with many aspects of that life causing me to become somewhat pessimistic.
A lifetime of 2, 4 and 18 wheels without incident but I am currently feeling my age and have slowed down accordingly.
Nevertheless because of this pessimism I believe that it would just be my "luck" to have an incident whereby someone was inconvenienced and we would suffer financially as a result.
Even with a long history of riding 180mph superbikes without problems I sadly now feel that I would be unlucky enough to slide off my bike on the towpath and clip a child.

You are compelled to ride your bike to commute to work whereas we are simply social riders so there is much more importance for you to continue and long may you continue safely.

I would genuinely hate it if you were pulled by an enthusiastic Plod spotting a bit of fame on the Nolan show but on the other hand I would be genuinely interested if indeed you were ONLY "spoken to" as the law, albeit an ass, is actually still an active law.
I agree with you that Plod probably wouldn't be interested in us lot on "funny" bicycles but my worry would be more about a civil action of which as you know in this world of litigation there are many cases.

You have, like the vast majority of contributors on this forum (compared to some forums I am on ) have the intelligence and ability to compose a legible post so I would ask you if possible to put together a letter addressed to the SOS (Address above) outlining our issues and as you say maybe with a little prompting from us they will get their act together sooner rather than later.
Be safe Damian and be happy.

 

[mike killay]

Come on everyone,
rally around and send a letter to the Secretary of State.
If you wish copy mine.
This is important because if things go wrong, especially post Brexit, we could find the current NI solution (i.e. registration with DVLA etc.) becomes the norm in the UK
karen.bradley.mp@parliament.uk

 

[TedG]

Come on everyone,
rally around and send a letter to the Secretary of State.
If you wish copy mine.
This is important because if things go wrong, especially post Brexit, we could find the current NI solution (i.e. registration with DVLA etc.) becomes the norm in the UK
karen.bradley.mp@parliament.uk

Fully agree Mike. Over here we need help from as many friends as possible. We are all in the same game with pedelecs so no matter where you are living please consider a letter to our Secretary of State on behalf of us in this little corner of the UK.
I posted a monster highly detailed 3 page A4 to her at her Stormont address but the one which you wrote Mike was much more concise and got to the point much faster than mine did.
I was wary about the email address because my letter to the previous SOS ended up at his constituency but as it was incorrect they were good enough to tell me and I then posted one to Stormont.
Hope you can help guys.
Thanks.

 

[Danidl]

Appreciate your efforts Ted.
Indeed any input from more knowledgeable forum members in here could go a long way in bringing NI into line with the rest of GB.

as well as the address you quoted at Stormont i`ve found this email address which would be quicker and more direct possibly.

karen.bradley.mp@parliament.uk

Secretary of State for N.I.

Hi Tommie, not really wanting to make a point of it,( actually I do) , but your sentence above would be strengthened by replacing GB with EU.

 

[tommie]

Well what`s the point of replacing GB with EU when within a matter of months we`ll be leaving that particular club, how`s that `strengthening`?
We remain inside the UK and will be subject to it`s present ebike legislation, which is why we are contacting our SoS, Westminster MP`s etc.

 

[Damian.Doherty]

Dear Mrs Bradley,

I write to ask about the current deficit between Northern Ireland and the rest of the EU concerning ebike law. As a member of a growing community of people who rely on these bikes to commute, updating this law which is now 23 years out of date will not only enrich the lives of those who have already invested in this clean and modern mode of transport, but it will also have a positive impact on the environment.

I speak from personal experience, I used to drive the 2 miles to work in a big diesel car and the morning commute would take me around 40 minutes, trudging slowly along in a line of other big unnecessary diesel cars with an average occupancy of one.

Now I cycle to work, it takes me around 7 minutes to get there and about 9 to get back. Its improving my health, I'm taking up one less car parking space in town and I'm doing my little bit for the environment.

Ebikes can be bought on Bike 2 Work schemes and lots of people have already asked about getting one but they are held back because of this outdated law.

You will be seen as a hero of modern thinking, environmental awareness and just plain old common sense if you are the one to finally push this through!

Kind Regards,

Damian Doherty

 

[tommie]

"Dear Mrs Bradley,
I write to ask about the current deficit between Northern Ireland and the rest of the EU concerning ebike law"

good enough letter but Mrs Bradley isnt a representative of the EU and really can`t tell the EU what to do, however as a UK Secretary of State she can bring into line here in NI what is already present in the rest of the UK,

that`s where the focus is.