Minister confirms: No supervision on Stint cargo bikes

Minister Cora van Nieuwenhuizen of Infrastructure did not know which types of Stint cargo bikes were on the public road until she temporarily banned the vehicles following a fatal accident in Oss. "If you find that there is no supervision, then I can only confirm that", she said in a parliamentary debate on Thursday evening, NU.nl reports.

The Minister banned Stint cargo bikes from the roads on October 1st, after she received the first results of the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate's investigation into the fatal accident in Oss. The Inspectorate found that there were technical defects that could cause Stints to stop suddenly, or be unable to stop. The Inspectorate also found that the manufacturer made changes to the vehicle without the ministry being aware of it. 

"I have to weigh all interests. This is a black and white decision: will the use of the Stint be suspended or not? The balance went to road safety, because I did not know which Stints were riding around", Van Nieuwenhuizen said.

GroenLinks parliamentarian Suzann Kroger called this "a serious statement", according to the newspaper. "How does the Minister of Infrastructure not know which vehicles do and do not drive on public roads." The Minister understood the surprise, she said. "If you find that there is no supervision, then I can only confirm that", she said. There is a so-called "light regime" on the category for "special mopeds", which includes Stints. Van Nieuwenhuizen wants to change this for the future.

The decision on whether or not Stints will permanently be banned from public roads, will be made by Van Nieuwenhuizen after research institute TNO finished its investigation into the vehicle and the accident in Oss, in which four children were killed. The results of that investigation are expected at the end of this year. For Stint manufacturer, Stint Urban Mobility, that is too late. The owner of the company filed for bankruptcy earlier this week.