In Germany, that’s not the case. What’s frequently allowed outside villages (but need explicit permission!) are mofas which are gas-powered vehicles which have a max speed of 25 km/h. The Netherlands are more permissive here but they do have far, far better cycleways.
is “mofa” short for “Motor-Fahrrad”? i’ve seen the term a few times in the past few days but never before that. in that case they are what i would know as a “klass II moped”, but here that category also includes pedelecs.
love the pseudo-homologated rules for eu motor vehicles.
Yes. But unlike in Sweden, where “klass II mopeds” don’t need an insurance nor a drivig permit , in Germany they do in general (‘mofa test certificate’, “Mofa-Prüfbescheinigung”, i.e. you need to take 6×90 minutes theory lessons and a 90 minute driving lesson and pass a theoretical test, not a practical test like for a usual driving licence/permit). Only normal pedelecs (those with 25 km/h limit, not s-pedelecs) are exempt and are treated as usual bikes and thus, don’t need any insurance nor driving permit.
Like in Sweden, S-pedelecs in Germany are treated equal to Mopeds (klass I moped) and thus, require the AM drivers licence and an insurance.
Which is actually a really crap regulation as each city has to check all of their bicycle paths and allow S-Pedelecs. Which means that there are many cities which are simply not doing that.
Many/most urban city paths in Germany are already too crowded for S-Pedelecs which go at 45 km/h.
For example, you would need to be able to safely overtake a slower bicycle which on most German bike lanes is not safely possible. And of course, it is a different thing for Netherlands bike infrastructure - but you also have much denser bike traffic there.
The problem here is, that at least in Germany S-Pedelecs are not allowed on bicycle paths at all. Which makes city driving a nightmare and is also preventing S-Pedelecs on many other paths. Around here there are many paths through nature reserves and woodland, where it totally makes sense that motorcycles are banned, but since S-Pedelecs fall into that category, you are screwed.
A regulation like “feel free to drive there, but do not even think about going faster than 25km/h” could work.
The regulation is more ar less only intended for high speed tracks ("Radschnellwege") where it is sometimes suitable to allow 45 km/h fast bikes or bike streets (“Fahrradstraßen”) where the s-pelelecs then would have to obey to the 30 km/h limit, not for each and every small narrow bike lane.
> and cannot, of course, use bicycle paths and cycle lanes.In town, but outside it’s allowed unless is explicitly forbidden.In Germany, that’s not the case. What’s frequently allowed outside villages (but need explicit permission!) are mofas which are gas-powered vehicles which have a max speed of 25 km/h. The Netherlands are more permissive here but they do have far, far better cycleways.
is “mofa” short for “Motor-Fahrrad”? i’ve seen the term a few times in the past few days but never before that. in that case they are what i would know as a “klass II moped”, but here that category also includes pedelecs.
love the pseudo-homologated rules for eu motor vehicles.
Yes. But unlike in Sweden, where “klass II mopeds” don’t need an insurance nor a drivig permit , in Germany they do in general (‘mofa test certificate’, “Mofa-Prüfbescheinigung”, i.e. you need to take 6×90 minutes theory lessons and a 90 minute driving lesson and pass a theoretical test, not a practical test like for a usual driving licence/permit). Only normal pedelecs (those with 25 km/h limit, not s-pedelecs) are exempt and are treated as usual bikes and thus, don’t need any insurance nor driving permit.
Like in Sweden, S-pedelecs in Germany are treated equal to Mopeds (klass I moped) and thus, require the AM drivers licence and an insurance.
yep.
Sorry, I’ve misunderstood.
Yet, there may be bike lanes, especially fast tracks, where S-pedelecs are explicitly allowed.
https://wattmoves.de/s-pedelecs-endlich-auf-radwegen-hier-ist-es-erlaubt/213234/
AfaIk, Mofas don’t need explicit permission on bike lanes out of town (§ 2 Abs. 4 StVO), but are explicitly prohibited sometimes *“keine Mofas”.
In town, the use of bike lanes with Mofas or pedelecs “E-Bikes” may be permitted if explicitly stated with an extra sign.
Which is actually a really crap regulation as each city has to check all of their bicycle paths and allow S-Pedelecs. Which means that there are many cities which are simply not doing that.
Many/most urban city paths in Germany are already too crowded for S-Pedelecs which go at 45 km/h.
For example, you would need to be able to safely overtake a slower bicycle which on most German bike lanes is not safely possible. And of course, it is a different thing for Netherlands bike infrastructure - but you also have much denser bike traffic there.
The problem here is, that at least in Germany S-Pedelecs are not allowed on bicycle paths at all. Which makes city driving a nightmare and is also preventing S-Pedelecs on many other paths. Around here there are many paths through nature reserves and woodland, where it totally makes sense that motorcycles are banned, but since S-Pedelecs fall into that category, you are screwed.
A regulation like “feel free to drive there, but do not even think about going faster than 25km/h” could work.
The regulation is more ar less only intended for high speed tracks ("Radschnellwege") where it is sometimes suitable to allow 45 km/h fast bikes or bike streets (“Fahrradstraßen”) where the s-pelelecs then would have to obey to the 30 km/h limit, not for each and every small narrow bike lane.