Sports doctors and cyclists' union want a 12-year age limit for e-bikes

Electric bicycles should be banned for children under the age of 12, according to sports physicians and the cyclists’ union Fietsersbond. An age limit will ensure that kids exercise more, while also increasing traffic safety and lowering the number of injuries. Minister Robert Tieman of Infrastructure is looking into whether an age limit is feasible, AD reports.

“We are very concerned about the growing number of schoolchildren with e-bikes or fatbikes,” sports doctor Maarten Koornheef told AD. “Dutch youth already get far too little exercise. Only 42 percent of 12- to 17-year-olds meet the Health Council’s exercise guidelines.”

Koornheef is also the chair of the Expert Panel Cycling & Health, an initiative of the Association of Sports Medicine. According to this expert panel, the weekly cycling time of teens aged 12 to 17 has decreased by two hours over the past 20 years, while the share of e-bike kilometers tripled between 2019 and 2022, from 7 to 20 percent.

Cycling is the main form of exercise for teenagers, besides sports. Preliminary results from an ongoing study by the University of Twente and Gelderse Valley Hospital show that cycling on an e-bike requires up to 50 percent less effort than on a regular bike.

That’s disastrous for young people, Koornheef said. “Sufficient physical activity is essential, especially for young people. The body develops from puberty to adulthood. The better muscle tone, motor skills, and coordination develop up to the age of 20, the longer you stay fit later in life.”

The Fietsersbond also supports a 12-year age limit. “It’s a sensible and enforceable measure,” chair Esther van Garderen told AD. “You can link it ot their ID card, which young people often already have from the age of 12.” She thinks a higher age limit would affect too many high schoolers in rural areas.

Road safety is also a concern for sports doctors and the cyclists’ union. Figures from VeiligheidNL show that the number of high school students injured in e-bike accidents increased alarmingly in recent years. The proportion of teenagers in the emergency room with bicycle-related injuries increased by 40 percent in the past decade.

Minister Tieman told AD that he is assessing the pros and cons of such an age limit. “We are working on a letter to parliament about introducing a minimum age of 12 for e-bikers,” his spokesperson told the newspaper.