Helmets mandatory for kids, teens on fatbikes and ebikes, likely from 2027
The Dutch government has decided to make it mandatory for children under the age of 18 to wear a helmet when they’re riding a fatbike or e-bike. The caretaker Cabinet is working on the regulation for this and plans to submit it to parliament in 2026 so that it can be implemented in 2027, the Ministry of Infrastructure announced.
The Tweede Kamer, the lower house of the Dutch parliament, wanted a mandatory helmet and age limit for fatbikes only, not for e-bikes. But according to caretaker Minister Robert Tieman, an independent investigation has again shown that legally distinguishing between fatbikes and e-bikes is impossible. Setting an age limit would require a legislative amendment, which takes time. The government, therefore, decided to go with mandatory helmets for children.
The Ministry is also looking into combating nuisance caused by fatbikes and e-bikes through a behavioral approach and is working with manufacturers and sellers on a quality mark for these bicycles.
Research by VeiligheidNL, commissioned by the Ministry, showed that the number of electric bike riders who end up in the emergency room after an accident doubled between 2020 and 2024. In the 12 to 18 age group, the number of e-bike riders with brain injuries has increased sixfold.
“I am deeply concerned about fatbikes,” Tieman said. “We all know the stories, and we’ve often been shocked ourselves by a fat biker speeding down the sidewalk or illegally speeding on a bike path. I believe it’s important to intervene in this, and I will do so with feasible measures.”
The decision advances the current caretaker Cabinet’s position that it was not feasible to create separate regulations for e-bikes as opposed to fatbikes. Tieman’s predecessor, Barry Madlener, previously told Parliament that a minimum age requirement and mandatory helmets for only fatbikes was “unachievable.”
Madlener had been very hesitant to propose tougher regulations for all e-bikes, including fatbikes. Madlener was in the Cabinet representing the far-right political party PVV, which pulled out of Prime Minister Dick Schoof’s coalition government, causing a political crisis before the summer. More recently, the NSC dropped out of the Cabinet, leaving only the VVD and BBB in power.
It is not clear whether the current Cabinet would be able to pass the legislation. The two parties represent 32 seats in the Tweede Kamer out of 150 in total. They command 24 seats in the Eerste Kamer, the upper house of parliament, where 75 senators are in office.
