21 September 2015
It should be simpler to understand and enforce the law on the use of electric bikes following legal amendments that come into force today ( Monday 21 September).
There are two basic types of electric assisted pedal cycles (EAPCs), pedelecs and Ebikes (also referred to as ‘Twist & Go’). Both have pedals and can be powered by peddling. The auxiliary motor on pedelecs will not engage at speeds above 4mph unless the bicycle is being pedalled, however with an EBike it is possible for a cyclist to rely entirely on the electric motor up to speeds of 15mph without pedalling, hence the ‘Twist & Go’ tag.
Until now, only pedelecs were allowed to be used as bicycles in Jersey. From today (21 September), changes to the law mean both pedelecs and EBikes will be treated as bicycles in Jersey, like they are in the UK. This is subject to the condition that they must have pedals that can be used to propel the bike and the auxiliary electric motor should not be able to propel the bike when it is travelling more than 15mph nor have a continuous rated power of more than 0.25kw.
Electrically assisted pedal cycles can be ridden by anyone over 14 years of age without a licence and do not require insurance or vehicle registration.
Electrically assisted pedal cycles that exceed legal restrictions, such as ‘Speed Class’ or ‘S-Class’ machines which can travel over 15mph using their auxiliary electric motor will need to be ‘type approved’ as a motor vehicle. These vehicles will be considered as low performance mopeds, conventional mopeds or motorcycles, requiring a driving licence, insurance and wearing of a helmet etc.
Minister for TTS, Deputy Eddie Noel, said "I believe this amendment now makes the legal requirements clearer for electric bicycles which is helpful for owners to ensure they don’t inadvertently fall foul of the law.”
gov.je