The Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycles (Construction and Use) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2020

Statutory Rules of Northern Ireland

2020 No. 31

Road Traffic And Vehicles

The Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycles (Construction and Use) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2020

Made

12th March 2020

Affirmed by resolution of the Assembly on

12th May 2020

Coming into operation in accordance with regulation 1

The Department for Infrastructure(1) makes the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by Articles 6(1), 88(1), (2) and (3) and 110(2) of the Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 1995(2) and now vested in it(3).

Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycles (Construction and Use) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2020 and shall come into operation on the day after the day on which they are affirmed by resolution of the Assembly.

Interpretation

2.—(1) In these Regulations—

“the 1995 Order” means the Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 1995;

“Council Directive 93/14” means Council Directive 93/14/EEC of 5^th April 1993 on the braking of two or three wheel motor vehicles(4);

“EEA State” means a State which is a contracting party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area signed at Oporto on 2^nd May 1992 as adjusted by the Protocol signed at Brussels on 17^th March 1993;

“electrically assisted pedal cycle” means a vehicle prescribed for the purposes of Article 6(1) of the 1995 Order in accordance with regulation 3;

“manufacturer” means, in the case of a vehicle which has been altered so as to become an electrically assisted pedal cycle, the person who made that alteration;

“Regulation (EU) No 168/2013” means Regulation (EU) No 168/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15^th January 2013 on the approval and market surveillance of two or three wheel vehicles and quadricycles(5) as supplemented by Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 3/2014 of 24^th October 2013(6);

“the 1971 British Standard” means the specification for motors for battery operated vehicles published by the British Standards Institution under the reference 1727: 1971(7) as amended by Amendment Slip No.1 published on 31^st January 1973, Amendment Slip No.2 published on 31^st July 1974 and Amendment Slip No.3 published on 31^st March 1978; and

“the 2015 BS EN Standard” means the specification for safety requirements for city and trekking, young adult, mountain and racing bicycles published by the British Standards Institution under the reference BS EN ISO 4210-2:2015(8).

(2) Any requirement in these Regulations for an electrically assisted pedal cycle to comply with a specified standard shall be satisfied by compliance with—

(a) any relevant standard or code of practice of a national standards body or equivalent body of any EEA State or the Republic of Turkey;

(b) any relevant international standard recognised for use in any EEA State or the Republic of Turkey; or

(c) any relevant technical regulation with mandatory or de facto mandatory application for marketing or use in any EEA State or the Republic of Turkey,

in so far as the standard, code of practice or technical regulation in question enables the specified standard to be met in a manner equivalent to that prescribed by Regulation (EU) No 168/2013.

Electrically assisted pedal cycle

3.—(1) The class of electrically assisted pedal cycles prescribed for the purposes of Article 6(1) of the 1995 Order (certain vehicles not to be treated as motor vehicles) consists of vehicles with two or more wheels which comply with the requirements specified in paragraph (2).

(2) The requirements referred to in paragraph (1) are that the vehicle shall—

(a) be fitted with pedals by means of which it is capable of being propelled; and

(b) be fitted with no motor other than an electric motor which—

(i) has a maximum continuous rated power which does not exceed 250 watts; and

(ii) cannot propel the vehicle when it is travelling at more than 15.5 miles per hour.

(3) In this regulation and in regulation 4 “maximum continuous rated power” has the same meaning as in Regulation (EU) No 168/2013.

(4) Notwithstanding paragraph (3), maximum continuous rated power may be determined in accordance with—

(a) any relevant standard or code of practice of a national standards body or equivalent body of any EEA State or the Republic of Turkey;

(b) any relevant international standard recognised for use in any EEA State or the Republic of Turkey; or

(c) any relevant technical regulation with mandatory or de facto mandatory application for marketing or use in any EEA State or in the Republic of Turkey,

in so far as the standard, code of practice or technical regulation in question enables maximum continuous rated power to be determined in a manner equivalent to that prescribed by Regulation (EU) No 168/2013.

General requirements

4.  No person shall ride, or cause or permit to be ridden, on a road an electrically assisted pedal cycle unless—

(a) it is—

(i) fitted with a plate securely fixed in a conspicuous and readily accessible position showing—

(aa) the name of the manufacturer;

(bb) the nominal voltage of the battery as defined in the 1971 British Standard; and

(cc) the continuous rated output of the motor as defined in the 1971 British Standard; or

(ii) visibly and durably marked with—

(aa) the name of the manufacturer;

(bb) the maximum speed at which the motor can propel the vehicle specified in miles per hour or kilometres per hour; and

(cc) the maximum continuous rated power of the motor specified in watts or kilowatts;

(b) fitted with a battery which does not leak so as to be a source of danger; and

(c) fitted with a device biased to the off position which allows power to come from the motor only when the device is operated so as to achieve that result.

Braking systems

5.—(1) No person shall ride, or cause or permit to be ridden, on a road an electrically assisted pedal cycle unless it is fitted with braking systems which are so designed and constructed that—

(a) where it is a cycle to which Regulation (EU) No 168/2013 is applied by Article 2 of that Regulation, it complies with standards no less than those contained in the relevant type approval requirements; or

(b) where it is a cycle to which Regulation (EU) No 168/2013 is not applied by Article 2 of that Regulation—

(i) in the case of a cycle which is not a bicycle, it complies with standards no less than the standards for braking systems fitted to a bicycle which complies with paragraph 4.6.8 of the 2015 BS EN Standard; or

(ii) in the case of a cycle which is a bicycle, it complies with the standards for braking systems specified in paragraph 4.6.8 of the 2015 BS EN Standard.

(2) In this regulation “relevant type approval requirements” means, where—

(a) a type approval is granted by the Secretary of State under the Motor Cycles (EC Type Approval) Regulations 1995(9), the construction and fitting requirements set out in the Annex to Council Directive 93/14;

(b) a type approval is granted by the Secretary of State under the Motor Cycles Etc. (EC Type Approval) Regulations 1999(10), the construction and fitting requirements set out in the Annex to Council Directive 93/14 at the time the approval was granted;

(c) an approval certificate is granted by the Department under Article 31A(4) of the Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 1981(11) (approval of design, construction, etc., of motor vehicles), the approval requirements for brakes applicable under regulation 4 of the Motor Cycles Etc. (Single Vehicle Approval) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2004(12) (approval requirements);

(d) an approval certificate is granted by the Secretary of State under section 58 of the Road Traffic Act 1988(13) (Minister’s approval certificate), the approval requirements for brakes applicable under regulation 4 of the Motor Cycles Etc. (Single Vehicle Approval) Regulations 2003(14) (approval requirements); or

(e) a type approval is granted by the Secretary of State under Regulation (EU) No 168/2013, the requirements applying to braking, including anti-lock and combined braking systems set out in Annex III to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 3/2014 of 24^th October 2013 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 168/2013 with regard to vehicle functional safety requirements for the approval of two or three wheel vehicles and quadricycles(15).

Lighting requirements

6.  No person shall ride, or cause or permit to be ridden, on a road an electrically assisted pedal cycle unless it complies with the lighting requirements for cycles specified in the Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000(16).

Condition of parts

7.  No person shall ride, or cause or permit to be ridden, on a road an electrically assisted pedal cycle unless the parts of the cycle mentioned in regulations 3(2), (4)(b) and (c) and 5 are in efficient working order.

Test and inspection

8.  Any constable in uniform is authorised to test and inspect an electrically assisted pedal cycle for the purposes of ascertaining whether any of the requirements specified in regulations 5 and 6 are satisfied provided they do so either—

(a) where the electrically assisted pedal cycle has been involved in an accident—

(i) on any premises where the cycle is being kept;

(ii) with the consent of the owner of the premises; and

(iii) within 48 hours of the accident; or

(b) on a road.

Requirement as to sale or supply

9.  No person shall sell or supply, or offer to sell or supply for delivery an electrically assisted pedal cycle unless it is equipped with braking systems as specified in regulation 5.

Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department for Infrastructure on 12th March 2020

Chris Hughes

A senior officer of the

Department for Infrastructure

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations prescribe the class of electrically assisted pedal cycles (EAPCs) to be treated as not being motor vehicles within the meaning of the Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 1995.

They specify the requirements for EAPCs in relation to braking systems, power output and vehicle markings and outline the EU and British Standard specifications that EAPCs must comply with in relation to construction and use. The Regulations further specify the requirement to comply with the Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000.

In addition, the Regulations make provision for the testing and inspection of EAPCs by a constable in uniform and prohibit the sale or supply of such cycles unless they are equipped with brakes as specified in these Regulations.

These Regulations have been notified to the European Commission pursuant to Directive (EU) 2015/1535 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 September 2015 (O.J. L241, 17.9.2015, p1-15) laying down a procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical standards and regulations, and of rules on Information Society services.

A Regulatory Impact Assessment and Explanatory Memorandum have been produced and are available from Safe and Accessible Travel Division, Department for Infrastructure, Clarence Court, 10-18 Adelaide Street, Town Parks, Belfast BT2 8GB or online alongside this Statutory Rule athttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisr

(1)

Formerly the Department for Regional Development; see section 1(6) and (11) of, and Schedule 1 to, the Departments Act (Northern Ireland) 2016 (2016 c. 5 (N.I.)). Pursuant to section 1(9) of that Act, the Department of the Environment was dissolved

(2)

1995/2994 (N.I. 18); Article 6(1) was amended by Article 97(1) of, and paragraph 27 of Schedule 3 to, S.I. 1996/1320 (N.I. 10)

(3)

See Article 8(1)(b) of, and Part 2 of Schedule 5 to, the Departments (Transfer of Functions) Order (Northern Ireland) 2016 (S.R. 2016 No. 76)

(4)

O.J. No. L121, 15.5.1993, p1

(5)

O.J. No. L 60, 2.3.2013, p. 52

(6)

O.J. No. L 7, 10.1.2014, p. 1-12

(7)

ISBN 0 580 06861 7; Copies can be obtained from the British Standards Institution at www.bsigroup.com

(8)

ISBN 978 0 580 89360 5; Copies can be obtained from the British Standards Institution at www.bsigroup.com

(9)

S.I. 1995/1513; revoked but type approvals granted under them may exist

(10)

S.I. 1999/2920; revoked but type approvals granted under them may exist

(11)

1981 No. 154 (N.I. 1); section 31A was inserted by Article 3 of S.I. 1985/755 (N.I. 6)

(12)

S.R. 2004 No. 484; See item 25 of Schedule 2

(13)

1988 c. 52

(14)

S.I. 2003/1959; See item 25 of Schedule 2

(15)

O.J. No. L7, 10.1.2014, p1

(16)

S.R. 2000 No. 169; relevant amending Regulations are S.R. 2007 No. 239, S.R. 2011 No. 329 and S.R. 2018 No. 88