Why place limits on pedal power?

One aspect of this, perhaps, regards electric bicycles. The rider of an ordinary (non-electric) bike needs no insurance or licence and is not required to wear a helmet, (although is perhaps foolish not to do so). It is entirely possible to ride a bike at 30-odd miles an hour. An average speed of 15mph for local cycle club members is equally feasible I’m sure. Have a look at the trip computer of your car – it won’t be much more than that either.

Contrast this with electric bikes. There is a maximum assisted speed of 15mph and 200 watts is the maximum assistance allowed. Of course, there has to be some sort of legislation and I suspect someone glanced at the UK legislation and thought that ours might as well be broadly similar (which it is). The minimum legal age to ride an electric bike in Guernsey is 14 years.

How this aligns with our desire to be a green island is unclear. The bicycle is a great alternative to driving, apart from the fact that it is slower and, if you are pedalling furiously to get somewhere you tend to arrive a little hotter than you would like. To be able to keep up with the traffic and arrive rather less like a triathlete, an electric bike is perfect, if a little slow.

If the current legislation is set at 15mph because going faster is seen as dangerous, then what are we doing allowing anyone (of any age) to ride their carbon fibre non-electric bikes at speeds of up to 35mph without any specific legislation other than adherence to the rules of the road?

I am not proposing any specific changes to the electric bike legislation.

Neither am I suggesting that legislation is introduced for those who ride ordinary bikes – to do so would be madness and entirely counter-intuitive.

I only want to state that, in this matter, we are trying to face in two directions at once and, in doing so, perhaps discouraging one of the best ways to reduce traffic without spending public money.

ANDRE QUEVATRE

andre@quevatre.com