The BBC amended coverage of a collision in Scotland which it claimed involved the rider of an e-bike, a vehicle that was in fact an electric motorbike, the case the latest example of media inaccuracy around e-bikes.

While the BBC are not the only regular offenders — reports in print, online and broadcast media consistently call vehicles e-bikes when they are in fact high-powered electric motorbikes that require a licence, registration, Vehicle Excise Duty, and the rider to wear an approved motorcycle helmet — it was the public service broadcaster’s coverage of a recent collision in Aberdeen which required correction after a cyclist rightly pointed out the inaccuracy.

E-bike refers to electrically assisted pedal cycle (EAPC), legal electric cycles that can be treated the same as a conventional pedal cycle, provided the user is age 14 or over. They must have pedals that can propel the bicycle, have an electric motor with a maximum continuous rated power not exceeding 250 watts, and cut off electrical assistance when it reaches 15.5mph. Riders of these compliant e-bikes do not need to register or insure their bicycle.

As was the case in the latest BBC story, an electric motorbike was called an e-bike, in this case a high-powered model by a brand called Talaria, which makes electric dirt bikes and electric motorbikes. While the exact model is unclear, none of Talaria’s products are EAPC-compliant and only some are road legal, even then with a Compulsory Basic Training (CBT) certificate for moped or motorbike riders, registration, insurance and Vehicle Excise Duty.

The cheapest of its models, the £3,000 ‘X3 ROAD LEGAL’, is an electric motorbike with a maximum power of 3,500w and “restricted top speed” of 28mph. 

Cycling campaigners have long pointed out the danger in incorrectly calling these electric motorbikes ‘e-bikes’, incidents involving high-power vehicles often wrongly attributed to legal EAPCs by the public and press.

> “They’re technically motorcycles”: Police continue crackdown on illegal ‘e-bikes’ causing “persistent” issues in city centres

In the latest case, the BBC News story (which also featured some questionable adherence to the Road Collision Reporting Guidelines) stated that an e-bike rider had been “critically injured after being involved in a crash with a car [driver]”.

road.cc reader Constantine made a complaint to the BBC who changed the story to refer to a motorbike rider.

“I’m an e-biker as well and it riles me up to no end when the two are conflated like this,” he told us.

The complaint to the BBC, said: “Please stop calling [vehicles] e-bikes that are actually illegal electric motorbikes. People are confusing regular pedal e-bikes which are restricted to 15.5 mph with these that do not have pedals. The make you refer to does not have pedals and to be used on UK roads [would] need to have registration plates/tax [Vehicle Excise Duty] /insurance/MOT.”

BBC Scotland’s complaints department said they “appreciate” the matter being raised and confirmed the story had been amended.

“We appreciate you bringing this matter to our attention. After reviewing our coverage we have updated the story so it refers to a motorbike rather than an e-bike. Thank you again for your feedback which we value. Complaints are sent to senior management and included in our overnight reports, among the most widely read sources of feedback in the BBC. This ensures that your concerns have been seen by the right people and helps to inform decisions about current and future content.”

It’s not the first time the BBC has faced criticism for its reporting of e-bikes. Back at the start of the year a controversial Panorama episode, fronted by Adrian Chiles, prompted numerous complaints.

The episode’s prolonged focus on modified e-bikes – which exceed the maximum 250 watts and 15.5mph cut-off speed for electrically assisted pedal cycles (EAPCs) permitted under UK law to ride on public roads – and the failure to consistently and fully distinguish between these machines proved controversial and provoked strong criticism from cycling campaigners and bike industry groups.

> “E-bikes are not illegal”: BBC hit with more complaints about “misleading and damaging” Panorama e-bike episode, as cycle shop owner says: “Finding a wolf in sheep’s clothing should not be a reason to attack sheep”

In June, the cross-party group of MPs and peers the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Cycling and Walking warned that dangerous “fake” e-bikes are undermining the UK’s cycling efforts and putting industry at risk.

The cross-party group said “reputational damage to a critical mode of transport” must be addressed, while urging the government to protect “exploited” food couriers.

It’s not just the BBC and other news outlets getting e-bikes wrong, of course. Swindon’s council recently claimed all e-bikes are banned and gave “Community Safety Wardens” powers to fine “reckless” cyclists up to £1,000. However, despite the announcement of the new e-bike ban, the council’s own documents showed that it only applied to bikes that were not EAPC compliant. In other words, meaning it did not apply to one single e-bike.