Sir, – I don’t think that anybody could argue against the proposition that e-bikes should be safe for use. And there is certainly benefit in clarifying the differences between bikes that are essentially the same as normal bikes but where the rider is given assistance, and higher-powered models that don’t have to be pedalled and are essentially electric mopeds.
However, the article “E-bikes: What are the regulations and what can be done to make them safer?” (Environment, November 7th) seems to suggest that both lack of regulation, and e-bikes themselves, are a significant contributor to cyclist-related deaths.
What the evidence shows time and time again is that the dangers associated with cycling as a mode of transport (as opposed to “sports” cycling) are almost entirely due to infrastructure that places cyclists in close proximity with the drivers of motor vehicles, and especially where either that infrastructure, or a lack of enforcement, allow drivers to travel at speed or in other ways that pose a significant danger.
All too often when a cyclist is injured or killed, the main question seems to be “did the cyclist do everything perfectly?”
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Even in cases where drivers are unambiguously at fault, the criminal justice system frequently seems to work towards reducing their culpability.
Cyclists can be discouraged from reporting in the first place, any charges that are brought will be the minimum possible, and sentencing often seems to be guided by the principle that depriving someone of being able to drive is in the same ballpark as locking them up.
So while questioning the safety of e-bikes has a place, it’s pretty selective and unhelpful as a way of attempting to explain road deaths if not preceded by some hard questions about the road design, the speeds, the wisdom of mixing large trucks with vulnerable road users in the first place, and the political incentives that still make it attractive for local politicians to oppose safer infrastructure. – Yours, etc,
DAVE MATHIESON,
Salthill,
Galway.