Taiwan’s Ministry of Transportation has ruled that riders of electric bicycles must wear helmets. The new law comes into force on July 1st, reports the Taipei Times.
According to the newspaper eight people have died since 2012 following crashes on e-bikes.
Electric bicycle owners will also to be required to attach stickers to their e-bikes indicating they are powered. The official stickers will be issued by Taiwan’s Vehicle Safety Certification Centre.
Department of Railways and Highways official Michael Tsao, said:
“We have received complaints of people can riding motorcycles without helmets. The fact is, they were riding electric bicycles."
He added: "It is difficult for people to tell the difference between an electric bicycle and an electric motorcycle – they look so similar.”