Regulator looking at 60 UK e-bike and e-scooter firms to assess safety compliance

by Alex Bowden Mar 15 2024

“Initial discussions” held with British Standards Institution on introduction of new safety standards for e-bike conversion kits

Writing in response to a prevention of future deaths report (PFD), the
Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) says it is assessing the compliance of 60 UK-based businesses involved in the supply of e-bikes, e-scooters or conversion kits. The body says it has already published 10 separate product recalls and nine other enforcement actions for unsafe or non-compliant e-bikes or e-scooters in the last 12 months.

In January, coroner Ian Potter issued a PFD after investigating the death
of Bobby Lee in London in July 2023. Potter concluded that Lee died of
smoke inhalation in a house fire caused by the over-charging of a
lithium-ion e-bike battery.

Are e-bike batteries safe? What’s the difference between a safe battery and a fire risk?

The bike in question was fitted with a second-hand conversion kit which was then combined with a charger bought separately from an online marketplace.
The charger had a substantially different voltage rating to the battery and
the battery was not fitted with a battery management system.

Concerns

Among Potter’s wider concerns were that lithium-ion batteries sold as part
of e-bike conversion kits are regularly sold without a charger and that, “chargers for sale on online marketplaces, in particular, regularly fail to meet appropriate standards.”

These comments echoed those of Adam Smith, coroner for Inner North London,
who had issued a previous PFD in response to the death of Mizanur Rahman in March 2023 following a fire caused by a faulty e-bike battery.

As a result of these and other incidents, the charity Electrical Safety
First (ESF) is calling for:

A ban on the sale of universal chargers for e-micromobility vehicles
The development of a product standard specific to conversion kits
New legislation to make online marketplaces take reasonable steps to
prevent or delist unbranded and potentially non-compliant conversion kits

Ban on ‘universal’ e-bike chargers and safety standards for conversion kits among recommendations from electrical safety charity

In its response to Potter’s PFD, the OPSS emphasised that, “the UK’s product safety laws already require that only safe consumer products be
placed on the market. Manufacturers or importers are required to ensure
their products, including e-bikes, e-scooters, their batteries or
conversion kits, are safe and there are criminal penalties for those that don’t comply. In addition, distributors, including online marketplaces,
must not supply products they know, or should know, are unsafe.”

Enforcement

Many – including the family of Sofia Duarte, who was killed in a fire
caused by a converted e-bike battery in 2023 – are however calling for stricter enforcement of these standards.

The OPSS said that both it and Local Authority Trading Standards are responsible for enforcing product safety requirements and that action was
being taken.

It said ithas published 10 separate product recalls and nine other
enforcement actions for unsafe or non-compliant e-bikes or e-scooters
(mostly e-scooters) since March last year, including the removal from the market of the dangerous UPP battery.

conversion kits.

“The product safety issues around these products remain complex: products
may be safe and compliant with the law when sold, but not when they are modified, or when used in a combination which is not compatible, as appears
to have been the case in this tragic fatality.”

Safety standards for e-bike conversion kits

The body also said it was pursuing a new “fast-track” standard for e-bike conversion kits and that initial discussions had been held with the British Standards Institution (BSI) on the preparation of a publicly available specification (PAS) to cover technical and safety standards.

‘Buying a complete e-bike is generally safer’ – new government guidance uneasy about DIY conversions

“This new standard will not change the existing legal requirements, and,
like the vast majority of standards, it will be voluntary. However, it will function to create and communicate expectations in this important market
area and assist businesses in meeting the existing legal safety
requirements for conversion kits. All British Standards are drawn up by committees and made by consensus which necessarily takes time. But we are
using a fast-track route and would hope that the standard could be in place
for businesses to use within the next 12-18 months.”

The OPSS also said the Government was “analysing responses” to a recent consultation on its Product Safety Review, which, among other things, seeks
to address concerns regarding the ease with which unsafe products can be
sold online.

The Government’s response on this is expected later this year.

E-bike safety: What to avoid when buying an e-bike, battery or charger

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