E-bikes Being Confiscated All Have One Thing in Common

Today for a point of interest we read a total of 62 news stories about police confiscating e-bikes and they all have one thing in common. Now to be fair we challenged ourselves to read 100+ stores, but of the 100+ we found only 62 of them were actually about e-bicycles the rest were about e-mopeds, e-motorbikes and even a few about scooters, with the headlines deliberately wrong to lure people into reading the article. But we are not here to discuss the morals of the Great British Press, nor their lack of knowledge as to what an e-bike exactly is, today is about the one thing they all had in common.

Variations

Now it goes without saying that there were massive variations across all the stories and reports that we found. They took place all over the UK, with London obviously leading the way in terms of numbers, but other larger towns and cities also made up the majority of them. And it’s not just the locations that were varied!

The types of e-bikes that were confiscated were wider than the choice at any online marketplace for e-bikes. Many of them were DIY/Mod jobs, some were professional-level mid-drive EMTBs and some were even hire e-bikes that still ended up being confiscated. So, with all this variety in mind, you will be even more confused now as to what they all had in common!

Common Crime

From finding drugs on the rider to the police chasing them for hours, the variety in the police reports was vast and wide, but they all had one thing in common and that was a charge of Anti-social behaviour. While it took many forms from wreckless riding to some e-bike riders even being charged with endangering the public, each and every time it was about them acting in an anti-social manner. So the lesson of the day has to be not to ride like a dick-head and you should be fine right?!

Now…I know what you are thinking, those who got their bicycle confiscated for being 500w instead of 250w and with a throttle simply didn’t make it into the news and thus don’t count. Sadly there are no statistics to say how many times that happened, but based on my own experiences and those of the readers of this very site none of us have had our bikes confiscated or even stopped at all despite most of us running 1000w motors with throttles. Why? Because despite still being illegal if you are riding safely with the appropriate safety gear on and being respectful of other road users and pedestrians you won’t fall onto anyone’s radar. Of course, this site has to stick to the letter of the law and suggests you comply with all UK laws and regulations, but not acting in an anti-social way is much better advice and much more likely to keep you e-bike between your legs where it belongs.

Take from this article what you want, but it does go to show you act like a fool then you will be treated like one as well. Ride safe, ride carefully and always ride respectfully.