Belgium Law prohibits e-bike use under 16 years of age

[AUbicycles]

...the Belgium Ministry of Transport wants to prohibit e-bike use under the age of 16. Industry organization FederVelo asked for the inclusion of this prohibition as, “16 year olds are often not yet so skillful to control an e-bike,” said FederVelo secretary Daniël Labours.

Policy makers are questioning how many young people are in fact riding e-bikes.

Full Story: Bike-eu

Is it realistic that a person under 16 reaches speeds which they would not ordinarily reach, yes. However it is realistic for some to reach 25kmh+ The law however makes sense on a number of levels, except for the fact that it is yet another law.

[cj7hawk]

Hmmm. Why not use this opportunity to set a reasonable standard. People over the age of 12 should be able to, reasonably, handle an electric bicycle. They are also getting to the stage where they may need to commute long distances on a bicycle regularly.

Anyway, Western Australia already imposes this law on anyone with a pedelec or PAPC - there is an age limit of 16 in place.

I haven't seen any young kids on such bikes here, but then, I think they are too expensive for most to afford?

Regards
David