Last autumn my wife was hit by a bike when walking in an Edinburgh park. She suffered a broken shoulder and needed an emergency operation, followed by several weeks of physiotherapy.

The bike in question was a standard pedal cycle. It probably weighed less than about 12kg and was ridden at no more than 10 ph. If it had been one of those heavy high-powered electric bikes favoured by food delivery riders, her injuries would have been very much worse.

Such two-wheeled monsters are becoming increasingly common. They typically weigh over 30kg, and some have been illegally modified to travel at high speed. They more closely resemble motor bikes than pedal cycles, yet their users are rarely licensed or insured. They are often seen zooming along bike paths and pavements, to the alarm and consternation of other path users.

The rules governing e-bikes are clear. They are officially known as "electrically assisted pedal cycles" (EAPCs), and they are required to conform to well-defined safety standards. Specifically, the motor must be rated at 250 watts or less, and it must be designed to cut out at speeds above 15.5 mph. Machines that tick those boxes may legally be ridden wherever ordinary bikes are allowed, and like ordinary bikes they do not need to be registered, taxed or insured.

This is as it should be. E-bikes can be a hugely beneficial form of transport, not least for people with fitness or mobility issues. When fitted with luggage carriers or child seats, they can provide an excellent low-carbon alternative to private cars for supermarket trips or taking the kids to school. And they are no more or less dangerous than traditional push bikes, provided they are ridden responsibly.

The trouble is that many of the e-bikes we see on bike paths and footpaths are not EAPC-compliant. They are much more powerful and are capable of much higher speeds. There are also bikes that would otherwise be legal but which have been illegally modified to overcome the 15.5 mph limit.

Over the last 12 months, Police Scotland have seized 233 illegal e-bikes, some of them capable of speeds of up to 60 mph. That's good. But it represents a small proportion of the number of offending machines in use.

Nobody is suggesting that these high-powered vehicles should be banned. They do, after all, play a useful role in transporting goods, especially in our towns and cities. And they are clearly better for the environment than petrol or diesel cars or vans.

But they must be properly regulated. The law stipulates that non-EAPC compliant bikes should be treated the same as mopeds and motor bikes. That law must be enforced. That means testing, licensing and compulsory third-party insurance for the riders, and registration plates for the bikes so that the police can identify offenders.

Above all, they must be confined to the roads, along with other motor traffic. They have no place in our parks or on our footways or bike paths.

Mike Lewis is a retired journalist

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