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IIRC (recently learnt what this means!) the "hoverboards" that were all the rage a while back would explode. As would these Vapes/eCigarettes.

I believe they were mostly traced back to dodgy imports/ people messing with them.

Batteries are dangerous things, people are just so used to them they don't think about it.

Given the history of introducing mass new power sources and transport solutions we should expect quite a lot of casualties.  Obviously we should strive to minimise this.

Thinking back to trains and steam (derailment / fire / boiler explosions), motor vehicles and petrol / diesel (fires, lead poisoning, heavy pollution pre catalytic converters, always crashes especially into squishy pedestrians and cyclists) etc.

I thought any Li-ion was liable to burst into flames, it's just the better and more reputable the brand the less likely the possibility.

I've been considering one of those fire resistant recharging bags for some of my rechargeables.

ktache wrote:

I thought any Li-ion was liable to burst into flames, it's just the better and more reputable the brand the less likely the possibility.

I've been considering one of those fire resistant recharging bags for some of my rechargeables.

It's usually a combination of poorly made cells and bad storage/charging/wiring but even the best made cells can go if abused.

I'd highly recommend a fire resistant recharging bag. I lost an rc monster truck to a lipo fire after a badly landed jump and just had to stand there and watch it go up in flames very quickly. Admittedly rc batteries are soft shell and designed to dump all their energy out in 10 minutes or so but unless you have a bucket of sand handy you're not putting out a lithium battery fire until it's done.

I'd have to get a bag the size of my bike ...

Very unlikely it was a Bosch or Shimano system. These batteries conform to The UL 2849 standard. This is a voluntary e-bike battery safety standard that demands strict testing requirements to prevent incidents due to electrical, mechanical, and fire hazards. The standard covers more than just the e-bike’s battery — it evaluates the functional safety of the entire e-bike system.

However, not all e-bikes in the market measure up to these safety standards. Certifying e-bike systems to the UL 2849 before launching them on the market isn’t legally required. And testing is expensive, so some manufacturers often use cheaper, untested electrical systems or opt to test only the battery and not the entire system. 

Maybe they're just very aero?

Most of the ebikes near me (that aren't stolen Lime bikes, anyway) are not even pretending to be pedal-powered. They're mopeds, and should be registered/licensed as such: I find it incredibly frustrating that the police are apparently content for illegal motor vehicles to be ridden on my local roads, pavements and parks.

I don't really give a shit that they're delivery drivers' vehicle of choice: there are too many of them anyway, and reducing the supply would either drive wages up for those remaining or incentivise customers to get off their arses and walk to the takeaway. Win-win. 

I find it incredibly frustrating that the police are apparently content for illegal motor vehicles to be ridden on my local roads, pavements and parks

So do I, but because I live in Lancashire I have to live with Lancashire Constabulary having 'legalised' the absence of MOT. The vehicle below was first identified and reported on 21.10.22- MOT expired 18.10.22. Seen numerous times around Garstang since then. VED is current, but DVLA and DVSA are either not capable or not interested in identifying from their own databases vehicles with VED but no MOT, or vehicles with MOT but no VED (never mind the ones who have had neither for many years but which are still seen blithely driving around Lancashire for many years). Therefore, there's very little hope that the police will take action against blatantly illegal electric bikes and scooters

Just out of interest, do you write up your travails with Lancs Police afresh for each comment, or do you have a stockpile of text that you just top and tail to make the comment vaguely relevant to the topic?

I (genuinely) salute your indefatigability, it just all seems like a lot of work. 

Exciting news! On my ride to work this morning I saw a clamped Ford Galaxy with a big yellow sticker on the windscreen saying "untaxed vehicle". If I could be arsed I would look through my footage for video evidence, but proof that it can be done! (I just wonder what the owner did to piss off their neighbours enough for them to complain)

Brauchsel wrote:

They're mopeds, and should be registered/licensed as such: I find it incredibly frustrating that the police are apparently content for illegal motor vehicles to be ridden on my local roads, pavements and parks.

They're just trying to be consistently inconsistent.  Legal motor vehicles being illegally ridden / driven in these places (illegal to drive on the footway...) are also ignored!

Brauchsel wrote:

I don't really give a shit that they're delivery drivers' vehicle of choice: ...

Don't fancy our chances on this campaign front but I agree.  If your entire business is "delivering stuff" your company is making more that the standard business usage of public infrastructure.  If (as they all are) you're pressuring your employees (yeah, the "just contractors" dodge) for speed / amount delivered then you should be at least partly responsible for consequences.  Even if it's not the execs who run people over their business model may outsource risk to the public at large (even if they're all potential customers).

Brauchsel wrote:

I find it incredibly frustrating that the police are apparently content for illegal motor vehicles to be ridden on my local roads, pavements and parks.

And regularly catch fire, with fatal consequences.

I was once merrily commuting on my bike, pedalling along. Another cyclist pulled up alongside me, on a mountain bike. I thought that I'd tuck in behind them, and use their slipstream on this flat bit of road.

The guy accelerated to about 45 kph, sat bolt upright and pedalling without effort. I was dropped a few hundred metres later at a slight incline. 

Either it was an illegal over-powered eBike, or it was Wout van Aert on his way back home. 

Lots of e-bikes in Reading and this year practically none of them require the rider to pedal. I don't know if they are bodge jobs or complete e-bikes ignoring applicable legislation but they appear to be uniformly throttle-controlled.

With the amount of duct tape I'm guessing bodge...

It does sound like the Judge thinks a driving ban would stop her using a "legal" e-bike. 

The final comment from the judge really suggests that the judge doesn't know the law on e-bikes.

Steve K wrote:

The final comment from the judge really suggests that the judge doesn't know the law on e-bikes.

Either that or the report in the Standard, from which I assume road.cc is getting its facts, has omitted to mention that the rider was on an illegal bike (living in Peckham as I do I would be extremely surprised if a delivery rider was riding a legal ebike, I don't think I've ever seen such a combination). Offences committed on a legal ebike cannot be punished with points on a driving licence, but offences committed on illegal ones can be.

They have her pictured on a bike after leaving court. I would have thought it would have been confiscated if it had been illegally converted (assuming the same bike).
Although coming in from Bexley to deliver in Peckham, on any ebike would eat into the battery range. 

The bike on which she's pictured is a Swapfiets lease bike, 100% legal, so if that was what she was riding at the time of the incident the mystery of how she got points deepens. Of course she could have leased it to replace her confiscated bike...

alan sherman wrote:

The Uber eats rider verdict seems odd. Reporting and sentencing sounds very driver like. Was the ebike legal? Does the defendant even drive a motorised vehicle that requires a driving licence? Is it really possible to get driving licence points for an offence not involving a vehicle that requires a driving licence?

I'm pretty sure you can get points for furious cycling, and that you can get points even if you don't have a driving licence (the points get automatically added as and when you get a licence - our local police were emphasizing this while warning people about letting their kids zip around on illegal escooters over the summer).

brooksby wrote:

I'm pretty sure you can get points for furious cycling, and that you can get points even if you don't have a driving licence (the points get automatically added as and when you get a licence - our local police were emphasizing this while warning people about letting their kids zip around on illegal escooters over the summer).

Escooters are different because it's actually illegal to ride one unless you possess at least a provisional licence. As far as I'm aware no points can be added to a driver's licence for offences committed on a pedal cycle or legal ebike (apart from one exception which is being caught going equipped to steal motor vehicles whilst riding a bicycle). Technically a court could revoke your driver's licence for an offence committed on a bicycle if it was deemed this proved you were not a fit and proper person to hold a driver's licence, but they can't put points on it.

Rendel Harris wrote:

Escooters are different because it's actually illegal to ride one unless you possess at least a provisional licence. 

and that is only for the eScooter trials they are doing. It is outright illegal to use private eScooters on public roads in the UK.

Given the drivers going around perfectly legally with way over the usual "points mean prizes" totals - never mind folks who may have decided that you're very unlikely to get any consequences for driving having exceeded your points total...

... I suspect this is kind of "stop doing this or I will be forced to warn you again!"

But but...surely as she didn't have a number plate there's no way of holding her accountable?