After scooters are limited to e-bikes, come speed bikes and fines of up to 15 thousand euros

After electric scooters comes the squeeze on e-bikes. Several Italian municipalities are equipping themselves with tools to verify the regularity of pedal-assisted bicycles, with fines that can reach up to 15 thousand euros.

Taking stock are Assoutenti and Fiab (Italian Environment and Bicycle Federation) who recall the estimates on the phenomenon: 1.8 million e-bikes are in circulation in Italy today, with a growth of 50% in the last 5 years, also thanks to the incentives that have boosted sales in recent years. Adding to the desire for sustainable mobility are riders, who to increase the number of deliveries and speed up times have replaced traditional bikes with electric bikes.

However, the boom in new vehicles is also accompanied by the rapid spread of illegal bicycles, which have undergone post-sale electronic and mechanical modifications, in violation of the rules of the Highway Code. The checks carried out over the last year by the police revealed that in some Italian cities, out of 10 e-bikes subjected to checks, 8 were found to be irregular. According to the Highway Code, in fact, pedal-assisted bicycles must be "equipped with an auxiliary electric motor having a maximum continuous nominal power of 0.25 KW, or 0.5 KW if used for the transport of goods, whose power supply is progressively reduced and finally interrupted when the vehicle reaches 25 km/h or earlier if the cyclist stops pedaling". Bikes that do not comply with these characteristics "are considered mopeds". That is, Assoutenti and Fiab underline, they are subject to mandatory registration, license plate, helmet and insurance coverage like other two-wheeled motor vehicles.

A crackdown is coming in several Italian cities against illegal bikes. "Some municipalities are equipping themselves with special speed bikes, instruments that use a platform equipped with rollers to check the power of the vehicles and the speed of use. Fines for violators range from 5 thousand to 15 thousand euros, in addition to the seizure of the vehicle", recalls the Fiab president, Luigi Menna. "We believe it is positive to increase controls, but we cannot fail to highlight a paradox: supervision against e-bikes is tightened but the total wild west of scooters is allowed - reports the president of Assoutenti, Gabriele Melluso - The recent license plate, insurance and helmet obligations are systematically violated in all cities".