what are legal consequences for >200watt in UK, Europe

if a clever cop pulls you over doing the speed limit and notices you have an overpowered electric bike, what are you likely to get ?

and do they have the power to confiscate your bike if they suspect it's >200watt

monster said:

if a clever cop pulls you over doing the speed limit and notices you have an overpowered electric bike, what are you likely to get ?

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If the cop is one of us to actually be able to tell if you have something over the limit, then maybe you are in trouble. Otherwise, staying the speed limit is no reason to get pulled over and could cause a lot of *media* problems if they did and something came of it.

and do they have the power to confiscate your bike if they suspect it's >200watt

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That part I'm not certain, will need some others here to chime in on that.

and do they have the power to confiscate your bike if they suspect it's >200watt

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If they don't now, they probably will soon. Seems these days any out-of-the-ordinary or un-preordained by government as legitimate activity constitutes a threat to "national security".

it's been mentioned before that batteries look like bombs.

i sprayed my shiny new X503 black and painted it with dirty oil so that it "camouflaged" it from praying eyes. a friend suggested getting wheel hub plates like on the reighley extreme to hide it.

if i see a cop car i pedle lots and pretent to be exhausted.

lots of people have aproached me asking questions because they know i have an electric bike, mainly kids tho.

monster, u da man, Since Randy's departure from this forum it's been pretty dull here, maybe you can liven this place up some.
What kind of batteries are you using that look like bombs? I tend to pedal faster when a cop is around also, just don't want any hassles with Johnny Law if I can avoid it.

I'm not certain but I think it goes like this....

If your bike in in violation of the restrictions of the law in terms of top speed or wattage., then you can be fined for driving a motor vehicle that is not registered. If you don't have a drivers license you can be charged for driving a motor vehicle without a license. They could force you off the bike at that point. Most cops will fine you and say walk it home. They could detain the vehicle at that point I believe.


If it's a Florida cop they'll give you a criminal citation, then send round cops to intimidate you with ammendments to the current law that don't exist. :wink:

So how would the police, or anyone for that matter, determine your Wattage is in violation. My hub motors have no stamps on them. I figure if I state each motor is 250 Watts (for a total of 750) there would be no easy way to dispute me in the field. On the other hand, if you do cause a serious accident you could probably be in real trouble if someone sued you and the experts were called in.

Rassy said:

On the other hand, if you do cause a serious accident you could probably be in real trouble if someone sued you and the experts were called in.

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That's when you get worried. Cops are not techies, so they can't look at your bike and think *hmm, that's 300 watts, get him!*

But if you are cruising by cars at 30 MPH while waving at the pretty girls, then it won't take a tech cop to figure out something isn't exactly like it should be.

Even assuming a cop that's an eager beaver, he can't be bothered to measure your wattage.
He will place the onus on you to prove the wattage to his satisfaction.
If there's any doubt, he's likely to only order you off the road & tell you to take it up with a judge if you don't like it.
Put it this way, they don't confiscate unregistered motorcycles every spring crackdown, just a fine.


Say Less, what became of that run-in with he cop who didn't approve of your sailing-ship?
Ever hear back from him?

i have three 24v NiMH batteries. the cells are shrink wraped in 4 stacks of 5 high with a big ass wire coming out.

they look like 4 sticks of old fasioned TNT with a det cord! hidden away inside my panniers.

in the UK they are real carefull about suspisious looking stuff at train stations. if i lock my bike on one of the platforms to go get a sandwich they will call over the PA system to return or they will remove it!

Hi Mate

I have been riding my e-bikes for about 4 years, only ever got stopped once that was for pulling out in front of a cop at a roundabout, he never even noticed the big motor sticking out the side of the bike!

Bottom line is most police would not know if your bikes was legal or not, a simple sticker should fob most of them off, if you havent got one just make one up, the other thing you could do is get it stamped in to the hub with some of those engine stamps.

What you are already doing is the best bet, always wear a helmet make sure you have good lights, the bike is in good working order including brakes and tyres etc, its also a good Idea to have means of turning the power down, I have a potentiometer on my bars which is inline with the throttle, I can turn the max speed down to 15mph which again should be enough to give most cops the brush off.

A problem may come if you are in an accident though however they would have to prove beyond reasonable doubt that it was the motor providing the speed, you take your chances like with anything, I wouldnt advocate using more than the legal limit here in the UK but then I wouldnt advocate using the legal limit :lol:

I also run NIMH as well, F cells, they are hidden though in battery boxes, just be sensible, always peddle and I would bet you never get stopped, I am hoping that the police have better things to do with their time, most e-bikers are very sensible unlike some of the dorks round here on BMX bikes with no lights or brakes.

Can you post some pictures of you bike?

Cheers

Knoxie

Ever hear back from him?
No.

So you're golden.
Free to tear up the streets.

knoxie said:

Bottom line is most police would not know if your bikes was legal or not, a simple sticker should fob most of them off, if you havent got one just make one up, the other thing you could do is get it stamped in to the hub with some of those engine stamps.

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If you live in an area where you are worried about the cops, I think the sticker idea is a good first line of defense. They don't have a way to know how hard you are pedaling.

How many watts can Lance Armstrong put out?

well this is the sticker I had.

It still dodn't stop the cop from pulling me over.

dude! that engine stamps idea is golden.

i want disc brakes.

i have a motorcycle leather jacket a gloves after reading the gloves poll! (pictured)

batteries are in the pannier side pockets and frame mounted battery box. the rear carrier is for storage but also holds the controller. wires all meet up in the pannier top bag.

I don't think it will be much of a problem if you keep your eyes open for the (very few) police. My trike has the advantage of a 250W limit, this is the continuous output in the law, peak output can be quite a bit higher (the UK law refers to a British Standard, they want 40 quid for a copy). Keep to 15.5mph when you see cops and all will most likely be fine.

I have smart looking labels stating 250W continuous, 400W peak on the controller and motor. Never been stopped. Mind you I haven't been stopped by the fuzz for 13 years, and never had a point on my licence in 30 years of lunatic motorcycle riding either (I don't drive, this is everyday use). Keep your eyes open.

As to the consequencies, the worst offence is no insurance (as the thing is then a motor vehicle) and that would be £5000.

http://www.lawontheweb.co.uk/crimertotable.htm

If you want to cheat, know the rules!

it says "upto £5000" the actual fine would be a lot less if you pleed guilty and don't waste the corts time. -probably £200

And more than likely confiscate and destroy your pride of e-bike joy. Along with points on your (if you 'aint got one they save them up, how nice) driving license.

Best bet, ignore the whole lot but have a secret switch that limits to 15.5MPH, and let the constable (spellings vary) have a go!