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newsUpdated maximum width of bicycle/tricycle in WA
Western Australia has an archaic law that a bicycle/tricycle may be no more than 660mm wide. Our Minister of Transport, Rita Saffioti, was approached by NDIS (National Disability Insurance Scheme), informing her that their mobility vehicles are wider than that. Ms Saffioti responded that she would "look into it". That was mid-2021.
I haven't read anything about that width limit being changed, until today, read this:
...800mm! That's nice, but has it actually happened? That article was posted in June 2022.
So, I searched, but cannot find anything about the limit being increased to 800mm. But, did find this, published November 7, 2023, about "eRideables":
https://www.wa.gov.au/organisation/road-safety-commission/erideables
...maximum width 700mm. But pedal ebikes, motorized wheelchair and mobility scooters are explicitly stated to not be eRideables.
So, do not know if or when this 800mm limit will come into effect. The trike I purchased from China, that I am customizing, is 870mm wide, so would be illegal even if the limit is increased to 800mm.
I would like to keep the trike inside, and my front door is 750mm wide. The current front-suspension design is 660mm wdie, so should I increase that to 750mm in anticipation of the law being changed? Hmmm, what a politician says and what actually happens is another thing. So no, will stay with 660mm. Of course, the wider it is, the less need for a leaning design.
Have just now stumbled upon this:
Quoting:
The Insurance Commission of WA – a state body which last year
paid $29 million to cyclists “for treatment, care and support
for injuries sustained in a crash involving a registered
vehicle” – told CyclingTips that “the specifications of the
bicycle used, is not considered in confirming that right to
claim.”
...that is very interesting. But as the article points out,
private insurance companies are very different, looking for any
loophole to get out of paying.
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