Police seized the ‘adapted e-bike’ after stopping a man on his way to Stafford
A modified ‘e-bike’ was seized by police this weekend for being unsafe to use on the road.
A man was stopped by Staffordshire Police and his bike was seized after he did not have the correct documentation to ride the vehicle, which was shown to be heavily modified.
A picture shared by Staffordshire officers showed a two-wheeler on its side, which was compared by one social media user to a “scrap heap.”
READ MORE: Police issue warning to Birmingham drivers after vehicles seized in night-time swoop
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The post was originally posted on X by Staffordshire Road Crime Team (@STAFFSRCT) on Saturday March 1 and got more than 8,000 views and dozens of comments.
A @STAFFSRCT spokesperson wrote: “We have seen an increase of E-bikes cross the county. This adapted E-bike was stopped in [Stafford] as he was travelling from Buxton to Stafford.
“To ride these bikes you require insurance and an appropriate driving licence. This vehicle has been seized.”
The post was also shared on UK Road traffic police and news Facebook page ,which has more than 80,000 followers.
Commenting under the public post, one member wrote of the device: “I wonder if it was being built for a new Back To The Future film.”
Another joked: “What in the scrap heap challenge is going here?” Another follower said simply: “That looks like a death trap.”
Government regulations state that you can ride an electric bike if you’re 14 or over, as long as it is an ‘electrically assisted pedal cycle’ (EAPC).
You do not need a licence to ride an EAPC and it does not need to be registered, taxed or insured.
However a bike is not an ‘electrically assisted pedal cycle’ (EAPC) if it has been modified to run at more than 15.5 miles per hour (mph) by the motor, has a continuous rated power output higher than 250 watts or does not have pedals that can propel it.
The rules state that if your bike is not an EAPC then it must be registered and taxed and you must have a valid driving licence to ride one.