Micro-EV confusion on Dutch cycle lanes

The rapid increase in electric scooters, electric bikes, mini electric cars and electric skateboards in the Netherlands and complexity around their regulations make it impossible to keep the country’s cycle lanes safe.

That’s according to Gerrit van de Kamp of the ACP police union who says it’s confusing.

Different rules about vehicles able to use the lanes are reportedly being introduced in Amsterdam, The Hague, Utrecht and Rotterdam, The Guardian reports.

Amsterdam has announced that slower mopeds (aka ‘snorfiets’) will be banned from bike paths from April. Utrecht is introducing a similar ban later next year.

But four-wheeled EVs with two seats and a 54.7km/h top speed, known as Biro cars, can still be driven on cycle lanes throughout the country.

The huge growth in the variety of vehicles is alleged to be a threat to public safety. The road toll in the Netherlands was higher among cyclists – 57 e-bike riders accounted for at least one in four cyclist deaths – than among car occupants in 2017, for instance.

City cycle paths are overcrowded, especially at peak hours, and the range of vehicles allowed on them has risen with the four main cities able to introduce their own rules since mid-2018.

But from April 8 this year mopeds, now reaching about 720,000 in the Netherlands, will be banned from most bike paths within Amsterdam’s A10 ring road. Utrecht is set to follow, but Rotterdam aims to continue providing mopeds with cycle lane access because they are too slow for the city’s roads, The Guardian adds.

Amsterdam has a digital map for moped drivers, as they are allowed on cycle paths in some parts of the city.