Accident researcher Brockmann: Cargo bikes should also be insured, Motor Presse Stuttgart, press release

Accident researcher Siegfried Brockmann brings up an obligation to insure cargo bikes. While compulsory insurance is mandatory for mopeds up to 25 km/h, you can currently ride large cargo bikes, some of which weigh more than 250 kg and have an electric motor for support, without insurance. “One in five does not have liability insurance. If you, as a pedestrian, are unlucky enough to be involved in a serious accident, then you have to see where you stay,” says Brockmann, head of accident research for insurers (UDV) in the German Insurance Association, in an interview with car motor and sport MON/OVE. “We have compulsory insurance for a moped with a speed of 25 km/h. We don’t have them with a private cargo bike. From my point of view, this is difficult to explain.”

According to Brockmann, the greater use of cargo bikes in the commercial sector will lead to more accidents and traffic problems in the future. “Cargo bikes are not only used privately, but also by various parcel delivery companies. They are often very large, have four wheels and weigh 250 kg, sometimes even more. They would be unthinkable without an electric drive.” Nevertheless, there are no specifications for such vehicles. “In my view, it is unfortunate that the legislator has decided to classify everything that is electrically assisted up to 25 km/h as a bicycle,” says Brockmann. It could have dramatic consequences if such a vehicle collides with pedestrians. “It annoys me that such questions are ignored because everything is supposed to be so beautifully sustainable and ecological. I think it should have been said from the start that these aren’t just bikes. I would have liked a separate category for it”

Legislators must also regulate where such vehicles can be parked without disturbing pedestrians. “Either they stand on the bike lane on the street, then they block this area. Or they get in the way on the sidewalk. Then the pedestrians have to see where they stay. If the numbers continue to develop like this, then that’s exactly what will happen. And the regulatory authorities cannot punish these violations because the cargo bikes have no license plates.

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