Capital's blitz on 'dangerous' pedicabs a success

From 24dash.com

Published by Hannah Wooderson for 24dash.com in Communities , Local Government
Tuesday 20th January 2009 - 9:45am

A high profile blitz on dangerous battery-powered pedicabs which put lives at risk has been so successful an estimated 800 of them have vanished from the streets of central London.

Six car – or even lorry – battery powered pedicabs, which frequently flout traffic laws by dangerously mounting pavements were hauled off the streets of central London within the first 40 minutes of an operation by Westminster City Council and the Metropolitan Police Service.

Within days of the first operation, the remainder of the 800 electric-powered pedicabs on streets in the West End had disappeared.

The pedicabs had been souped-up by installing powerful car or lorry batteries to make them run faster. Once batteries have been connected and hidden under the passenger seats, they can travel up to 20mph but often without any safety features and poor brakes.

Since the blitz was carried out further operations have failed to find a single illegal battery powered Pedicab and the council and the council now believes the practice, which means the pedicabs can reach speeds of up to 20mph - even with several passengers inside – is all but over.

When the council first visited a garage where pedicabs are parked overnight, officers found it strewn with batteries, wiring and other charging paraphernalia. A subsequent visit found it cleared of all the equipment - further evidence the operators are cleaning up their act. Officers had previously discovered the garage, which was used to store the bikes, converted into a covert charging point for the batteries wired up with gaffer tape.

Now the council says operators will appear in court in April in a test case which, if successful, could see the vehicles legally defined as motor vehicles and subjected to the same laws as cars over insurance and safety.

Councillor Danny Chalkley, Westminster's cabinet member for environment and transport, said: "These rogue operators have put lives at risk by wiring up powerful industrial sized batteries and hiding them under the seat. I'm relieved they have been cleared off the streets.

“We are now working with the police and the operators themselves to ensure they stop flouting traffic regulations, and we are lobbying for legislation to regulate the industry. We have absolutely no intention of allowing the West End - the most important shopping and entertainment district in the country - to be turned into the Wild West."

The operations to rid the capital's streets of unsafe pedicabs saw council staff and City of Westminster Police and Traffic Unit officers set up checkpoints in the West End to seize electrically assisted pedicabs and others flouting traffic legislation.

The council will continue to take robust action to control unsafe pedicabs, and has the support of responsible operators.

Graeme Rivett, managing director of London Pedicabs, said: "I think the less scrupulous operators know it is time for the industry to clean itself up, and that can't come soon enough for responsible operators like me who have always had properly built and maintained pedicabs. People should remember pedicabs should be a fun and safe way of seeing our city, and there is no excuse for putting passengers at risk."

The danger of battery powered pedicabs was brought home to people in Soho in November when bystanders narrowly avoided injury after a pedicab mounted the pavement and smashed into a restaurant window.