So, Lime bikes are facing at least a dozen legal claims from cyclists who say they were injured while riding “faulty” bikes and alarmingly these alleged injuries include broken legs, arms and ankles, dislocated shoulders and brain injuries There are an estimated 40,000 Lime bikes out there and the company says that half of young people (18-34) use their cycles weekly, so a dozen or so accidents reported by the solicitors’ firm Osbornes Law is admittedly small beer given so many users.
But the figures should give us pause about the Lime bike phenomenon, and indeed the increase in the number of electronic bikes generally. There are, let’s recall, 2,000 electronic Santander bikes out there, quite apart from the dockless ones. And given that e-bikes can reach 15.5 miles an hour and that they’re heavier than the normal sort – about 25 kg - the risk of accident is that much greater. So, how about grasping this particular nettle right now and requiring every e-bike user – Lime, Santander, whatever - in London to wear a helmet? It would address just one sort of injury, to the head, rather than broken limbs. It would also, of course, be fantastically inconvenient, taking away from the spontaneity of the whole bike hire thing. Teenagers would hate it, which I say is one more reason to make it compulsory. In the Netherlands it’s only cyclists on fast e-bikes, which reach up to 45 miles an hour, who must wear a helmet, but over there the network of cycle lanes makes cycling way safer than it is in London. But it would make hire bikes far safer.
It would be fantastically inconvenient to enforce helmets... If that means fewer people cycle, I’m fine with that
If e-cyclists had to use helmets it would of course make for thousands of offenders daily, but it might send a useful signal about the utility of helmets. The bike hire companies would be obliged to inform users about the requirement. And if it meant that users have to cart round a helmet with them on the off-chance that they’ll be hopping on a bike, well, that’s just too bad…most bike owners do that anyway. And if that in turn means that fewer people cycle, I’m fine with that.
Read more: This foldable bike helmet is a game-changer for cyclists in London
Let me out myself here as having skin in this game, in a very real sense. I am a pedestrian with a grievance, having been mowed down and injured by a perfectly conventional cyclist a while back. I eye every cyclist mistrustfully, and electronic bikes in general look to me like the Grim Reaper on wheels for they can accelerate quickly, they’re heavier than normal and they’re silent. This wouldn’t be a problem were it not for the fact that an awful lot of cyclists do not respect pedestrian crossings. I mean that. Most cyclists, I accept, aren’t homicidal. Most don’t see lights at a crossing as applicable only to motorists. Most are respectable individuals without a sense of road entitlement. But there are an astonishing number of cyclists who regard pedestrian crossings as an opportunity to get ahead of the traffic, like the bloke who ran me over at speed.
Don’t believe me? Stand at any junction with a pedestrian crossing for ten to fifteen minutes – I recommend the police try it. You will find, sooner or later, probably sooner, that a cyclist - quite often on a Lime bike, but this morning it was an idiot girl on a foldable one - will sail through the lights as someone is trying to cross. As I say, the thing about e-bikes is that they’re going to be that little bit more lethal than the normal sorts. No wonder Joan Collins made an Instagram post calling attention to the “loutish” behaviour of Lime bike users.
The many cyclists who try to mow down pedestrians should be stopped. Instant fines could diminish the menace in weeks
So here is a modest proposal for dealing with the real Lime bike menace, which extends to any and every e-bike user. They should all be obliged to wear a helmet. That way, they will be protected against one sort of injury. And the many who try to mow down pedestrians should be stopped. Specifically, coppers from the Met should tear themselves away from their computer screens, get on their bikes and hang around at busy junctions waiting for the inevitable offenders. It will only be a matter of minutes. The real threat of apprehension by the police - who should pick a different junction every day – and instant fines could diminish the menace in weeks. And in the case of Lime bikes, the users’ card details could be instantly available for the purposes of a fine.
Read more: 7 best road cycling helmets for women
Incidentally, Lime is boasting that it’s investing £5million in at least 2,500 more docking spaces. But you know what? If they’ve got 40,000 bikes out there – the company is too shy to say – then that means over 30,000 (let’s be generous) bikes aren’t being docked and an awful lot are cluttering up the pavement to the annoyance of pedestrians, parents with buggies and senior persons on walking frames. Just get the wretched things off the pavement, why don’t you?
The Lime bike phenomenon may be handy during Tube strikes but it’s problematic in other ways. Let’s make them less of a nuisance.
Melanie McDonagh is a columnist for The Standard
