Stint ban from public roads unjustified, manufacturer says
The decision of Minister Cora van Nieuwenhuizen of Infrastructure and Water Management to ban Stint cargo bikes off public roads following a fatal train accident involving such a bike in Oss, is unjustified, Edwin Renzen, owner of manufacturer Stint Urban Mobility, said to Het Parool.
According to Renzen, the Stint bike that was involved in the accident in Oss, in which four children were killed, has not yet been investigated.
"I was called by the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate on Saturday. We had a meeting with a lawyer, researcher, chief and another supervisor. They all wanted the Stints stopped on the basis of a single hypothesis that was written based on one report. That same evening me and my team investigated the hypotheses and could only refute it", Renzen said to Het Parool. But the Inspectorate's decision was made. "They literally said: if you do not take the Stints off the road, the Minister will do it."
"The Minister has no idea what kind of social impact her decision will have. Twenty thousand children are picked up every day and there are courier companies that only sue Stints. There are now a lot of unsafe traffic situations around schools, because children are picked up with taxis and coaches. This has an incredible impact", Renzen said. "If it had been correct, I would have been the first to say: take all the Stints off the road. But the decision is not substantiated with facts. Not at all. In fact, we have presented facts that show that the vehicles are safe. But we've lost confidence."
