• oktoberpaard@piefed.social
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    4
    ·
    edit-2
    14 hours ago

    I’m just guessing, but I think it’s because with a throttle it would be considered a “snorfiets” (light moped with a maximum speed of 25 km/h), which would mean:

    • minimum age of 16
    • license plate
    • insurance
    • drivers license
    • different traffic rules (mostly the same as bicycles, as opposed to 45 km/h mopeds)

    I think they wanted to make electric bicycles with assisted pedaling an attractive alternative to noisy and polluting petrol fueled mopeds.

    Also, we’re talking about a country with more bicycles than citizens, so treating them as “snorfiets” would mean that a lot of cyclist would be forced to share the road with faster motorized vehicles on some stretches of road (though not many), which would create other safety issues.