Dutch transport authorities said on Thursday that they’d seized hundreds of electrical “fat bikes” illegally imported from China, because the bike-loving country grapples with the emergence of a brand new trend that has even sparked heated debate in parliament.
A shipment of around 16,500 illegal fat bikes – the bikes are named for his or her wide tires and chunky frames paying homage to low-slung motorcycles – was stopped in Rotterdam, while one other 1,000 were seized at a Dutch distribution center.
In Europe, the utmost speed of electrical bikes is proscribed to 25 kilometers per hour. The Dutch Environmental and Transport Inspectorate said the seized fat bikes could have been “manipulated to go faster” than the legal speed limit.
They also had powerful batteries and other technical specifications of mopeds, it said.
Since the Netherlands made helmets compulsory for motorized scooter riders in January 2023, the variety of fat bikes has exploded.
Many have due to this fact switched to fat bikes, which don’t require helmets.
But the fat bike trend – which is especially popular amongst teenagers – has sparked countless complaints and calls for brand spanking new laws to limit their use.
Aside from the humming noise the massive tires make on the road, authorities are also concerned about how easily software that limits speed to the legal limit might be circumvented.
The popularity of fat bikes has also led to the importation of bikes without speed limiters, with batteries which can be more powerful than permitted and with throttle controls that make them seem more like motorcycles.
The issue even led to a heated debate between the brand new Dutch government and MPs on Wednesday.
The legislature calls for an age limit of 14 years and compulsory helmet use for using fat bikes.
They also need a latest legal definition that specifically addresses fat bikes and never other electric bikes.
But Infrastructure Minister Barry Madlener spoke out against this distinction, saying that fat bike manufacturers would “simply adapt to the new rules.”
A vote on the matter is predicted inside the following two weeks.
The rapidly increasing popularity of fat bikes has also led to a rapid increase in trips to the emergency room, said the Dutch safety organization Veiligheid.nl.
Last yr, 59 serious incidents were reported. In the primary 4 months of this yr, 33 incidents were already reported, the organization said.
According to a recent survey by the environmental research agency Cyclomedia, almost half of Amsterdam residents feel in danger in traffic. “New urban means of transport” equivalent to fat bikes are sometimes blamed for unsafe situations.
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