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FACT SHEET
VEHICLE AND TRAFFIC AMENDMENT (POWER ASSISTED PEDAL CYCLES)
BILL 2014
The Vehicle and Traffic Amendment (Power Assisted Pedal Cycles) Bill 2013, successfully
passed the House of Assembly on 14 November 2013 and was tabled in the Legislative
Council on 15 November 2013. The Bill lapsed when Parliament was prorogued on 12
February 2014 before it had reached its final stage in that House.
It is necessary for the Bill to be reintroduced in to the House of Assembly for passage
through Parliament.
The Vehicle and Traffic Amendment (Power Assisted Pedal Cycles) Bill 2014 amends the
Vehicle and Traffic Act 1999 to exclude a Power Assisted Pedal Cycle (PAPC) that is
compliant with the accepted European Design Standard EN15194 from being classified as a
`motor vehicle'.
Consequently the provisions of the Vehicle and Traffic (Driver Licensing and Vehicle
Registration) Regulations 2010 that would normally require the registration of PAPCs and
licensing of their riders do not apply.
The underlying principle behind the proposed amendment is to enable an EN15194-
compliant PAPC to be used in the same manner as a `bicycle' on the State's road network.
Compliance with this standard allows one or more auxiliary motors to produce a maximum of
250 watts, independent of the input provided by the cyclist's pedaling motion. This is slightly
greater than the 200 watts currently treated as a bicycle under Tasmanian law.
Until changes are made to the Act and an amendment is made to the Road Rules 2009 to
categorise an EN15194-compliant PAPC as a `bicycle', their use will remain illegal on
Tasmanian roads.
A consequential amendment to the Road Rules recognising EN15194-compliant PAPCs as
`bicycles' will form part of the 10th Road Rule Amendment Package put forward by the
National Transport Commission, this is expected to occur in August 2014.