The European Court of Justice has ruled that electric bicycles are bicycles and not motorcycles, a decision that has important legal implications
The European Court of Justice has ruled that electric assist bicycles, or e-bikes, are not motor vehicles. While this may seem like a common sense decision, it was also an important one for the classification of e-bikes.
By classifying e-bikes as not being motor vehicles, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) classified them as bicycles and therefore as vulnerable road users. It also means that e-bikes don’t need insurance, like a car or motorcycle.
The decision was made on the basis of the way an electric bike is propelled, which is essentially non-mechanical, and because of the relatively low speeds at which an electric bike can accelerate without pedaling.
The debate surrounding the classification of electric bicycles has been ongoing since their initial appearance, reports the Global Cycling Network. This ECJ resolution originated from a Belgian case in which a cyclist riding an electric bike was hit by a car and died as a result of his injuries. During the court proceedings, the question of the cyclist’s right to compensation was discussed, in which the classification of his mode of transport was taken into account.
The Belgian courts referred the case to the ECJ, seeking an answer to the question of classification. The ECJ ruled that “devices which are not powered exclusively by mechanical energy, such as an electric bicycle which can accelerate up to 20 km/h without pedaling, do not appear to be capable of causing bodily harm or material damage to third parties comparable to the damage which can be caused by motorcycles, cars, lorries or other vehicles powered exclusively by mechanical energy, which can reach significantly higher speeds”.