Number of e-bikes ridden illegally doubles year-on-year

The number of e-bikes being ridden illegally has doubled year-on-year as the threat posed by modified devices increases, police statistics obtained by the Telegraph show.

A total of 260 electrically powered bikes were confiscated last year by officers from 15 constabularies, data obtained through Freedom of Information requests reveal. That is double the 130 seized in 2022 and four times the 61 confiscated in 2021.

The full extent of the problem posed by e-bikes being modified to exceed speed limits, ridden on pavements or used in connection with crimes will be far higher because many of the 43 police forces in England and Wales do not collate specific information about such seizures. Meanwhile, a number of police forces classify e-bikes as motorbikes, despite them being ridden on cycle lanes and not requiring insurance.

Relatives of pedestrians killed after being hit by e-bikes are calling on the Government to toughen laws around the increasingly popular but largely unregulated type of transport.

Christine White, whose 91-year-old father, Jim Blackwood, was killed in Kent after being hit by an e-cyclist riding on the pavement, said: “E-bikes are potentially lethal, and have become almost impossible to control.

“Police can sometimes struggle to catch those riding them dangerously or illegally unless officers are themselves on bikes or similar devices.

“Some e-bike riders feel they are able to ride wherever they want with impunity, impervious to any damage to property or persons along the way.

“This Government has failed to legislate to prevent these devices becoming more of a menace. There is clearly confusion about whether an e-bike is a bike or a motorbike, as the devices get increasingly heavier and more powerful.”

Electrical assistance in an e-bike cuts off when it reaches 15.5 miles-per-hour, otherwise it is classified as a motor vehicle and required to be registered with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, as well needing to be taxed and insured to be used on the roads. However, modifications to the bikes can see them travel far faster.

Last week, two teenagers were killed and a third critically injured after the e-bike they were all riding was involved in a “high speed” collision in Moray, Scotland.

Owen David Jones, from Lancashire, died last year after suffering a brain injury when he was thrown off a modified e-bike. His father, Richard Murray, is calling for a ban on modification kits that boost e-bike speeds to up to 45mph.

The new data shows how Northumbria Police seized 39 e-bikes that had been modified or were being ridden illegally on public roads last year, compared to just six the year before.

A total of 37 e-bikes were seized in 2023 by Nottinghamshire Police, 23 in 2022 and 16 in 2021. Of those, 13 were destroyed, 11 sent to auction, 31 returned to the owner and 21 still held in storage.

Last year, Sussex Police took 20 e-bikes off the streets, 13 in 2022 and just two in 2021.

Norfolk Police seized 24 e-bikes in 2023, a marked increase to the 10 confiscated the year before, and the 6 in 2021.

Northamptonshire Police data shows how last year, one e-bike was confiscated because it was stolen, two seized because they were modified to go fast but were being ridden without insurance, one was used in a crime and another involved in an accident.

Hampshire Police seized 13 electrically powered bicycles, 11 of which were scrapped.