Restricting speeds of e-bikes to help prevent accidents

ON THURSDAY, the State Administration for Market Regulation and the Standardization Administration co-issued new national standards for electric bicycles, limiting them to a top speed of 25 kilometers per hour and a maximum total weight of 55 kilograms. Legal Daily comments:

Four months ago, the two administrations published a draft regulation to solicit public opinions. Now the official standards have been released.

E-bikes have become an increasingly popular choice as they have some obvious advantages: Compared with buses, they allow riders a freer schedule. Compared with cars, they are cheaper and can evade traffic jams; Compared with the bicycles, they require little effort.

However, some riders have said that the 25 km/h speed restriction is too slow, and means they are even slower than bicycles. But most of the existing electric bicycles exceed this limit, and some of them can reach speeds of up to 60 km/hour. And as their numbers have risen, so too has the number of accidents they have been involved in.

The speed limit is necessary because the new regulation clearly defines electric bicycles as non-motorized vehicles and restricts their use to bicycle lanes, where riding at high speeds might pose high risks to pedestrians and bicycle riders.

But how to implement the new regulation will be a challenge. As early as 1999, the State issued a national standard for e-bikes, which restricted them to 20 km/h, but that standard was totally ignored.

Therefore, It is advisable to inspect electric bicycle producers so that they only produce electric bicycles that meet the new national standards.

Residents should also be made aware of the new standards, so that they do not break the law.