Experts say souped-up e-bikes pose big risk for children aged from 12 to 15, who account for many A&E cases
O
n a busy lunchtime, thick-tyred electric bikes zoom through the leafy lanes of the Vondelpark in Amsterdam. But after a marked rise in accidents – particularly involving children – these vehicles the Dutch call “fatbikes” are to be banned in some parts of the Netherlands.
“It’s nonsense!” said Henk Hendrik Wolthers, 69, from the saddle of his wide-tyred, electric Mate bike. “I drive a car, I ride a motorbike, I’ve had a moped and now I ride a fatbike. This is the quickest means of transport in the city and you should be able to use it.”
An increasing number of road safety experts, doctors and politicians in the Netherlands disagree. Although motor assistance on e-bikes is limited to just over 15mph, many fatbike riders modify the factory settings to reach speeds of 25mph in this busy park.
