Malta is to scrap its compulsory cycle helmet laws after finding that it hinders efforts to get people riding bikes and discourages uptake of bike-sharing schemes, reports Malta Today.
A number of European Union member states have laws requiring children below a certain age to wear a cycle helmet, including France, which introduced such a law for under-12s last year.
Meanwhile, Spain requires all riders outside towns and cities to wear a cycle helmet, except in extremely hot weather or when they are going uphill.
However, Malta is the only European Union member state that has a blanket helmet law that requires all cyclists to wear a helmet, irrespective of their age or the type of area they are riding in.
That is set to change, however. A spokesperson for Transport Malta said it is currently drafting legislation that will “bring Malta more in line with countries where bicycles are regularly used as a commuting mode of transport.”
The spokesperson continued: “Transport Malta has been at the forefront in promoting bike sharing, enacting legislation to make this possible and is in constant dialogue with potential service providers to make this service more popular,” he said.
“The Authority recognises the fact that obligatory helmets can be of hindrance to the promulgation of such initiatives.”
Other legislative changes are also being introduced to encourage sales of e-bikes with a power output of up to 250W.
At present, such bikes need to be registered due to an existing law that was primarily aimed at people who converted push bikes with the aid of a petrol-fuelled motor.
“A number of individuals had resorted to install small fuel engines on regular bicycles, endangering themselves and other road users,” said Transport Malta.
“The legislation was in fact very effective in removing these potentially dangerous irregular bikes from our roads.
“Pedelec and e-bike owners can ride them on our roads without registering them or paying any licence fees, the same as one would with a traditional bicycle.”
I'm betting the police actually figured a jury or magistrate would be thinking, "how was the van driver supposed to know there was a bloody cyclist...
Also, what if, as part of our 'tax' we got a camera that could link up to ANPR systems and send out automatic fines?
Damn these cameras are good; how did they know the cyclist's age?
picture of the A4 portway, more to the point. that's the shared path and the railings to the right. Not a busy path at all, narrowest just when it...
Just had to check the date as I read this review. This is up there with indicators as the most useless bike accessory.
Well, that's rubbish
Yes, it turns out the cyclist was not the only person to mistake the hard shoulder for a cycle lane. Some motorist made the same mistake so they...
I'm not sure I understand your logic here. Why would the marathon be the only highest level? and 100m disregarded? I'm not very much up on running,...
Hi, thanks for great review as always! How does this bike compare to Rose Backroad for fast gravel use? Which one would you prefer?
https://twitter.com/gazza_d/status/1367564271433973763 Good job the pubs are closed