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Home> | Fire | >Manufacturing | >Electrical Safety First announces e-Bikes Bill and seeks “hero MP” to table document |
Electrical Safety First announces e-Bikes Bill and seeks “hero MP” to table document
13 November 2023
IN THE wake of nine deaths across the country arising from e-bike and e-scooter fires this year alone, the charity Electrical Safety First is urgently seeking an MP to adopt and table The Safety of Electric-Powered Micromobility Vehicles and Lithium Batteries Bill in Parliament.

This “groundbreaking” proposed Bill will be available to MPs selected in Westminster’s annual Bill Ballot draw, which takes place on 16 November. This gives them a unique and vital opportunity to save lives by bringing about desperately needed changes to e-bike safety.
The proposed Bill is an escalation of Electrical Safety First’s campaign to tackle a spate of fatal e-bike and e-scooter fires as the charity steps up its call for legislative change.
The Safety of Electric-Powered Micromobility Vehicles and Lithium Batteries Bill in Parliament would propose sweeping, but essential, changes to how e-bikes, e-scooters and their batteries are regulated across the whole of the UK, bringing into force third party approval of these devices before they are released to the commercial market.
“Time is of the essence,” urged Lesley Rudd, CEO of Electrical Safety First. “The number of deaths is rising and we are determined to bring about real change to help prevent the wholly avoidable loss of life we are seeing from these devices,”
Key changes
If adopted and tabled by an MP, the draft Bill would introduce three key changes to tackle e-bike fires:
*Mandate e-bikes, e-scooters and their batteries to undergo third party approval before coming to market, in turn regulating them in much the same manner as is the case for fireworks
*Impose a temporary ban on the sale of ‘universal chargers’ until measures are put in place that ensure the safe compatibility of batteries and chargers. One solution proposed is the introduction of a communications protocol to ensure the battery and charger can ‘talk’, thereby reducing the risk of an overcharge fire occurring from incorrect voltage
*Introduce clearer markings on lithium-ion batteries to make it clearer to households that they are not suitable to be disposed of in the general waste.
The charity estimates that nearly 150 MPs have experienced a fire linked to an e-bike or e-scooter in their constituency since 2020, with (as stated) nine people already having died this year.
“We must find the political will to tackle this issue head on and urgently,” explained Rudd. “Our Bill is ready to go and offers real life-saving solutions, as first outlined in our report entitled ‘Battery Breakdown’. Our Bill will protect people from the sub-standard e-bike and e-scooter batteries currently wreaking havoc in our homes and destroying lives.”
Rudd concluded: “We are offering solutions to the escalating problems for both Government and MPs. To prevent further loss of life and unnecessary heartache, we urge those in Westminster to work with us on adopting this Bill and, ultimately, saving lives.”
Devastating impact
Earlier this year, a mother and her two children were killed when an e-bike caught fire in their home, while in another incident a father, namely Andrew Beaton, talked of the devastation an e-bike fire, from which his family narrowly escaped, realised for their home in Lancashire.
The Safety of Electric-Powered Micromobility Vehicles and Lithium Batteries Bill emerges as New York City recently enforced a similar law that has now taken effect, meaning that all e-bikes and their batteries being sold or operated in New York City will need to be approved by an independent third party examiner in order to ensure they conform to safety standards.
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