Skip to main content
Home

Main navigation

  • Top stories
  • Health
  • Crime
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Tech
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Weird
  • 1-1-2
Image
Man on an electric bike
Man on an electric bike - Credit: Photo: AndreyPopov/DepositPhotos
Innovation
Rotterdam
speed pedelec
Zuid-Holland
traffic
scooter ban
bicycle paths
Sunday, 29 March 2020 - 08:00
Share this:
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • linkedin
  • whatsapp
  • reddit

Trouble on the road for cyclists using fast pedelecs; Some moving to bike paths

A growing number of bicyclists using electric-assissted pedelec models find themselves frustrated by traffic lights which will not turn green for them as they wait by themselves at stoplights. The bikes are capable of reaching speeds of up to 45 kilometers per hour, and will be allowed to move from the roads back to the bike paths in parts of Rotterdam next week.

The traffic lights do not recognize the bikes because of their lighter weight, said Robert Hulshof of urban design think tank Crow in an interview with the Telegraaf. The cyclists must wait until a car comes along for the light to turn green. “It is a matter of fine-tuning the induction loops that are installed into the ground," he said.

"They react to metal and weight, but if you make them too sensitive, then the traffic lights will react to too many movements."

Rotterdam is among the first municipalities to allow the pedelecs to rejoin normal bicycle traffic. The local rules change on April 1, and pedelec riders will only be allowed to reach a maximum speed of up to 30 km/h, the Telegraaf reported.

Follow us:

Latest stories

  • Feyenoord left disappointed after 0-0 draw against Heerenveen in Rotterdam
  • Glass falls from Zandvoort gondola, injuring women; Four men held
  • Fire chief suggests national wildfire control supervisor
  • A few hundred people may be sleeping outside in Ter Apel asylum reception center
  • Crowds on beaches with parking spaces overcrowded
  • Second explosion in week rocks Kleine-Gartmantplantsoen in Amsterdam

Top stories

  • Netherlands sees first official heat wave in two years, municipalities unprepared
  • Body found in water in Venlo, police investigate cause of death
  • 'Comfort women' provided the Royal House with millions: FTM
  • Search continues for swimmer missing at Overveen
  • Salman Rushdie stabbing "horrific" says Dutch justice minister
  • American man imprisoned for 7 years for stabbing cops during Covid curfew check

© 2012-2022, NL Times, All rights reserved.

Footer menu

  • Privacy
  • Contact
  • Partner content