Tired of pesky younglings zipping around on fat-wheeled bikes? So is Amsterdam! Traffic councillor Melanie van der Horst wants to pull the brakes on these unruly two-wheelers.
According to Het Parool, Van der Horst expressed the following fat-tired electric bike concerns in a letter to the municipal council:
First of all, the speeds of these thick bikes are often ramped up; secondly, the troublesome teens who ride them seldom wear helmets; and lastly, these cyclo-paths are just a pain in the rear for the rest of us.
How is the council going to combat these unstoppable whippersnappers? According to Van der Horst, by implementing a few suggested restrictions.
Move fat bikes to the road
Those chunky tires don’t necessarily need to be brought to a screeching halt — however, Van der Horst advises that they should be given a different, designated path from bikes without freakishly large wheels.
READ MORE | 7 reasons why wielrenners (lycra bikers) need an intervention
Considering the speed limit for Amsterdam’s roads will be 30 kilometres per hour starting from December, perhaps they could be resigned to the regular roads, suggests Van der Horst.
Give them an age limit
At the moment, fat bikes are a fad among the pipsqueaks sporting a pubescent moustache. But what would happen if they had to be 18+ to ride these bikes?
The government want to start categorising the vehicles as mopeds instead of bikes, which means riders would require a driver’s license, license plate, third-party liability insurance, and potentially a mandatory helmet.
More control
Out of the 50 fat bikes that were spot-checked last week, a third of them possessed an illegal throttle.
However, considering many police officers don’t have enough time on their hands to examine every fat-wheeler in traffic, a trial is being conducted in Utrecht that could allow Community Service Officers (boa’s) to enforce traffic violations as well.
Watch out, voluptuously-wheeled bikes! The end of the road is near.
Do you agree with these suggestions? Let us know in the comments below!
How are they different than any other electric bikes??? Vanmoof have throttles and go over the speed limit! I get we need to have the drivers be more responsible but this is VALID for all bikes!
Unfortunately the fat bikes are a nuisance and often a danger to the person riding it and to other street users. A licence with age limit would make a difference if there are enough police/boa’s to help enforce this as a law.