The Dutch government will soon announce that the possession and use of booster sets for electric bicycles on public roads will be prohibited, RTL News reports.

Source: Nieuwfiets.nu

This measure is intended to improve road safety and reduce nuisance, due to complaints about fast-moving electric bicycles, especially fat bikes, which are popular among young people because of their fat tyres and large saddle. Souping up e-bikes is popular and is done, for example, by adding a throttle or by removing the speed limiter, which leads to a lot of inconvenience and safety problems.

At the end of last year, many municipalities urged the government to take measures, such as a minimum age for the use of electric bicycles or a ban on performance sets. In 2022, the House of Representatives also called for a ban on electric bicycle performance sets, with a majority of VVD, GroenLinks-PvdA, NSC and BBB supporting the ban. The Ministry of Infrastructure subsequently had a consultancy firm investigate how the increase in electric bicycles could best be tackled. The advice is to introduce a ban on the possession and use of such hardware and software on public roads, comparable to the existing ban on the use of mopeds and scooters.

According to the consultancy, this would provide clarity and enable better information campaigns about the risks of using souped-up electric bicycles, such as the fact that the driver may be uninsured. Currently, speeding on a souped-up e-bike on public roads is already prohibited, but installing a booster kit in itself is not. These sets and performance apps are sold in stores and online. Riders turn off the booster when they see the police, causing the bike to return to its normal maximum speed. However, this will change, because if the police detect a performance set on a bicycle, the driver will be punished.