Authorities seized about 10,000 illegal fatbikes last year, far more than in 2023

The Dutch authorities seized around 10,500 illegal fat bikes last year, AD reports based on figures from the Public Prosecution Service (OM). That is far more than in 2023. The number of fines issued to fat bike drivers also increased significantly. The increase is partly due to more police controls, but also because of fat bikes’ rising popularity - there are simply more of these types of bikes on the road.

Fat bikes and other e-bikes are only allowed in the Netherlands if their maximum speed is 25 kilometers per hour and their engine strength is less than 250 watts. Anyone caught breaking these rules will get a fine of 310 euros. At a second violation, the police confiscate the bike.

At the end of 2023, the police acquired almost 250 roller benches which they use to check how fast a fat bike can go. They started using these roller benches halfway through last year. Since then, the number of fines issued to fat bike and e-bike riders has increased significantly.

“The national number of fines has doubled in the past three years,” police spokesperson Luna van Heerwaarden-Smidt told AD. “Last year, the number was in the thousands.” The police cannot provide more exact figures, because fat bikes fall under the broad category of electric bicycles. “But the assumption that the majority of the fines are for fat bikes is correct.”

The OM does keep separate track of the number of fat bikes confiscated. Last year, the police and other services like the FIOD seized 10,500 fat bikes, OM spokesperson Jeroen Toet told the newspaper.

Separately, the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate also seized 16,500 uninspected fat bikes from China last summer, mainly at the port of Rotterdam.

Safe traffic association VVN applauds the police’s efforts but points out that there are far too many fat bikes to check them all. “There are a lot of imported fat bikes driving around with speed limiters that can easily be removed,” a spokesperson said, urging the government to take legislative action.

Parliament has been pushing Infrastructure Minister Barry Madlener to impose an age limit and mandatory helmets on fat bikes, but he has warned that distinguishing between fat bikes and regular e-bikes would be too complicated and any measures may need to apply to all e-bikes.