eco-logikal: They are safe and eco-friendly : E-Bicycle

2011/03/13 S. SHAH, Petaling Jaya, Selangor letters@nst.com

A FEW years ago, my friends and I wanted to buy electric bicycles for the purpose of exercise as well as a mode of transport to commute to work and visit friends in the neighbourhood.Worried about their legality on the road, I went to the Road Transport Department (RTD) on several occasions. A senior officer told me that electric bicycles did not come under its purview and, therefore, the RTD could not stop anyone from using such vehicles.

He further pointed out that Section 5 of the Road Transport Act 1987 does not mention electric bicycles as a category.
Having cleared my doubts with the RTD, I bought an electric bicycle with a maximum speed of 20kph.

Now, the transport minister has just announced its ban. His contention is the registration and road safety compliance of electric bicycles.

We should allow the use of electric bicycles without registering with the RTD as practised in developed countries. At any rate, registration does not guarantee safety as we can see with motorcycles.
Moreover, the registration of electric bicycles would increase their cost and the lower-income group might feel the pinch.

Second, his concern of not being able to insure unregistered electric bicycles does not hold water as there are insurance firms offering coverage for electric bicycles.

Third, he said the speed of such bicycles, about 40kph, posed a danger to other road users. If speed is the issue, why ban all electric bicycles, especially those conforming to the speed recommended in the road safety report?

Why fear something which does not exist as an average cyclist probably reaches 15kph to 25 kph, while racing cyclists achieve 50kph to 60kph? The latter have been riding on highways and state roads for years without any concern from the authorities.

Motorcyclists top the list of fatal accidents. Why are they allowed to ride on highways? And why are more and more motorcycles with higher capacities being registered with little or no regard to the high fatalities involving motorcyclists?

In fact, they should be banned from highways.

Here are the advantages of using an electric bicycle:

- The cost of an electric bicycle in Malaysia is anything from RM1,200 to RM2,300.

Its maintenance cost is about 20 sen per day for travelling about 20km. This is attributed towards the cost of charging the battery.

- Since Malaysian made electric bicycles have a maximum speed of about 20kph, they are safe, especially for older folk, who cannot handle the weight and speed of motorcycles, and also schoolchildren who tend to speed while riding their motorcycles.

- Electric bicycles offer a quiet, smooth and comfortable ride.

- They operate on battery and are environmentally friendly and their use is in line with the country's embrace of green technology.

These show that the benefits of electric bicycles outweigh their so-called risks.