What about the registration of your electric bicycle?
The Stichting Aanpak Fiets- en E-bike theft – also known as SAFE – advocates registering newly sold e-bikes in a register of the RDW. This in the fight against the large number of bicycle theft last year. SAFE is committed to reducing the number of bicycle thefts. One of the concrete objectives is a 20% reduction in the number of bicycle thefts every five years. A difficult objective, given that more and more e-bikes are being sold. It is expected that this will also lead to more e-bikes being stolen.
Read all about registering your e-bike in the RDW register in this blog.
Registering e-bikes as a task for the RDW
The RDW is seen as an independent administrative body and is part of the central government. Nowadays, this body keeps, among other things, the basic register of all Dutch vehicles. These vehicles also include the registration of speed pedelecs (e-bikes with a speed of up to and including 45 kilometers per hour), scooters and mopeds.
How is the RDW going to collect the data of an e-bike and the owner? About half of the new e-bikes sold are now insured. To take out your insurance, you must register data such as the frame number and personal details. Is an insured e-bike stolen? Then the owner’s details are easy to find. The challenge lies mainly in the other half of the e-bikes sold, without insurance. Information about the owner is missing. A registration with the RDW makes it easier to find the owner!
What do the minister and chamber think about the registration?
The Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management and the House of Representatives have indicated that they are positive about the registration of newly sold e-bikes. The chairman of SAFE has stated that the registration of an e-bike is different from registration of motor vehicles.
Have an E-bike engraved
At the moment it is not yet mandatory to register your electric bicycle with the RDW. Some cities do offer free bicycle registration, for example in Amsterdam. An engraved bicycle is less attractive to the thief. The owner of the engraved bicycle is also easier to find. For (electric) bicycles that may not be engraved, a label that is difficult to remove can be used.
