Cycling UK Forum

Digital system automatically reduces electric bicycles’ power in built-up areas

Electric bike motors will be shut down when entering residential or built-up areas of Amsterdam, under a government-funded project to cut road deaths from the increasingly powerful vehicles.

The digital technology, which has been successfully trialled on a 4km stretch of bike lanes at Schiphol airport, was funded by the Dutch ministry of infrastructure and water management.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/nov/06/dutch-government-pilots-technology-to-cut-e-bike-road-deaths

It strikes me that this technology might be able to be adapted for other road vehicles that sometimes kill.

Yes. Most of the technology is just about ready. Of course it interacts strongly with the internal autonomous stuff.

I expect the politics to lag well behind.

Jonathan

PS: Discussed here, with a question about which types are restricted:
https://forum.cyclinguk.org/viewtopic.php?f=55&t=140369&hilit=s+pedelec&start=120#p1546401

Jdsk wrote:
I expect the politics to lag well behind.

Jonathan

Perhaps if the technology were first introduced here for e-bikes, then it would be easier to suggest applying it to motor vehicles, since they do kill more?
I know, the cognitive blindness of drivers is a formidable obstacle.

Mike Sales wrote:

Jdsk wrote:I expect the politics to lag well behind.

Perhaps if the technology were first introduced here for e-bikes, then it would be easier to suggest applying it to motor vehicles, since they do kill more?

That's an interesting point.

If eBikes get more people onto any sort of HPV then I'd expect a lot more understanding of the issues and a lot less tribalism.

Jonathan

PS: From the other thread:

Jdsk wrote:Probably this:
"Dutch government pilots technology to reduce road fatalities for electric bikes"
https://eminetra.co.uk/dutch-government ... ews/83081/

I can't tell if it refers to what we call eBikes or only to S-Pedelecs.

Jonathan

Interesting fact-ette from that link:

"Sixty-five people died last year while riding e-bikes, which have an integrated electric motor to propel the wheels, up from 57 in 2018. The vast majority were men over the age of 65. "

(NB this is in the Netherlands)

Yes, it is.

Jonathan

simonhill wrote:Interesting fact-ette from that link:

"Sixty-five people died last year while riding e-bikes, which have an integrated electric motor to propel the wheels, up from 57 in 2018. The vast majority were men over the age of 65. "

(NB this is in the Netherlands)

From memory of past reports, a significant number of NL e-bike deaths and serious injuries are from crashes while mounting and dismounting and activating the motor in error. A saddle weight sensor would seem a good idea!

Such crashes would not be counted as road casualties in GB.

The standard e-bike reaches speeds of 12mph (20km/h), but faster models, such as speed pedelecs, can reach 28mph.

I thought the standard cut-off was 25km/h. What evidence is there that speed was actually a factor in e-bike deaths?

No need for evidence, speed kills, one cannae change the laws of physics

As mjr says, in many of these cases the speed of the bike was zero.

Jdsk wrote:PS: From the other thread:

Jdsk wrote:Probably this:
"Dutch government pilots technology to reduce road fatalities for electric bikes"
https://eminetra.co.uk/dutch-government ... ews/83081/

I can't tell if it refers to what we call eBikes or only to S-Pedelecs.

Jonathan

That article just references back to the Guardian. Who seem to be a bit lax in their details.

I'm pretty sure the idea is around S-Pedelecs. I recall reading something about it in the summer; allow the speed devices to use their speed on the quieter through-run parts of a journey, but limit them down to pedal cycle and 25km/hr (15mph) electric assists when in more congested areas. That seemed a better idea than banning the S-Pedelecs from parts of their journeys.


- Nigel

If I had my way the same tech would apply to all motorised vehicles restricting them to the speed limits. It would also allow the powers that be to reduce the speeds when needed eg when sppeds need to drop as in bad weather. Proof of anyone modifying such vehicles would ensure vehicle destruction plus huge fine.

Holland is flat and therefore an e-bike should be available after a disability test My f-i-law ius 91 and cycles with ease,albeit a little below 12mph.The roads will be full of ebikes posing another threat for pedestrian.I approve of speed-restrictions but adopt technology for cars please.

I have noticed some €bikes going quite slowly, I suspect the heavy batteries are exhausted, minusplus?