New study suggests age limit, safety requirements for cargo bikes
More and more cargo bikes are being ridden on Estonia's streets and officials are discussing new usage restrictions and requirements. One rule could see minors banned from driving them.
The popularity of cargo bikes has risen after a state subsidy of €1,000 was introduced for those who buy them.
Under Estonian law, a cargo bike is categorized as an ordinary bicycle. This means anyone over the age of 10 can ride one and, if they wish, with several friends sitting in the front.
A new study, commissioned by the police (PPA) and carried out by TalTech recommends introducing new usage regulations. This includes differentiating them from bicycles.
"The braking distance can be longer, its turning radius varies depending on the box wheel, and if you're going fast, the handling has an effect," Rõõt Laigu, the university's project manager of mobility research, told "Aktuaalne kaamera".
Laigu's research also recommends banning them from sidewalks, requiring children to wear safety belts and helmets, and a speed limit of 25 kilometers per hour. Some of these suggestions are now being considered by officials and the study was also sent to the Ministry of Climate.
Cargo bike enthusiast Tõnu Tunnel, who has been riding his in Tallinn for six years, is a little skeptical about the proposals.
"There are also some that are essentially the size of a normal bicycle. I don't see why a 14-year-old child can't ride one if they can handle it. But then the tricycles, the bigger ones with the box that people usually take their kids to kindergarten on, there's really no way a child can ride it.", he told AK.
PPA senior officer Sirle Loigo said some things can come down to "common sense". "But if we don't have that common sense, as we saw with scooters, then we need to regulate by law," Loigo said.
She does not think it is necessary to introduce a new speed limit, as the law already caps it at 25 kilometers per hour for cyclists, but agrees with an age requirement.
"Anyone who has driven one knows very well that they are not easy to drive. With this front box, you still have to take more account of the trajectory and the inevitable thing is that the younger the driver, the less experience they have," Loigo added.
The Ministry of Climate has not yet discussed the need for new restrictions.
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Editor: Helen Wright
