Column: Foley On E-Bikes, Road Safety & More

[Opinion column written by OBA's Maurice Foley]

Last October, I wrote an opinion piece concerning the issue of young people riding e-bikes in the community and the associated safety concerns.

My message was straightforward: if Bermuda failed to act now, we would eventually pay a much higher price—in injuries, in lives disrupted, and in financial costs.

Recent news from the United Kingdom suggests that this warning deserves renewed attention.

According to the BBC, compensation payouts arising from collisions involving e-bikes and e-scooters have now exceeded £110 million [approximately BD$150 million]. Even more striking is the speed at which those costs have grown. The total reportedly stood at about £51 million [BD$68 million] just a year earlier, meaning compensation payouts have more than doubled in the past year alone.

That should concern every policymaker.

The issue is not whether Bermuda will experience losses on the same scale as the United Kingdom. We won’t. Our population is far smaller. The lesson is that delaying sensible regulation allows both the human and financial costs to escalate rapidly.

This is not an argument against e-bikes. E-bikes offer an affordable, environmentally friendly and practical means of transportation. They have become part of modern mobility across the world and can play an important role in Bermuda’s future. But technology evolves faster than legislation.

Over the past several months, we’ve seen increasingly powerful electric bikes appear on our roads. We’ve witnessed younger riders operating machines capable of speeds that far exceed those of traditional bicycles and motorcycles.

Residents have expressed concerns about reckless riding, pedestrian safety and the growing difficulty of distinguishing between legal pedal-assist bicycles and high-powered electric motorcycles.

These are not isolated observations. They are warning signs.

The United Kingdom is now paying the financial consequences of failing to keep pace.

The BBC reports that compensation claims involving these vehicles have surpassed £110 million [BD$150 million], with one individual payout reaching £20 million [BD$27 million].

Those costs do not simply disappear—they are ultimately reflected in insurance costs and borne by the public.

That is why Bermuda should act before circumstances force us to.

We should be having a serious national discussion about:

• appropriate classifications for electric bicycles;
• licensing and registration where appropriate;
• insurance requirements for higher-powered vehicles;
• rider education;
• parental responsibility; and
• consistent enforcement of existing road safety laws.

None of these measures are intended to discourage innovation. Their purpose is to ensure that innovation does not outpace public safety.

One of the hardest realities in public policy is that success often goes unnoticed. When governments act early, critics sometimes ask why the measures were necessary. When governments wait too long, everyone asks why nothing was done sooner.

Last October, I urged Bermuda to act before tragedy dictated the agenda. Today, international evidence reinforces that message. We still have the opportunity to learn from the experiences of others instead of repeating them.

The question is not whether we should act. The question is whether we will act while prevention is still an option; or only after the costs become impossible to ignore.

- Maurice Foley is the co-deputy chair of the One Bermuda Alliance.

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