Police stop another e-bike rider from delivering food via M6 motorway

Police stopped a delivery rider on the M6 motorway near Preston, Lancashire (UK), on Friday night.

The rider was using the hard shoulder of the motorway as they attempted to deliver fast food, according to Lancashire's Road Policing Unit.

The police later added that a "brief examination" of the bike led them to believe it had been modified, due to the "presence of extra motor and throttle", taking it outside of Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycles (EAPC) legislation, and thus requiring a license and insurance, as per a moped.

E-bikes in the UK cannot exceed a maximum power output of 250 watts, and should not be powered by the motor at a speed over 15.5mph.

The Highway Code forbids cyclists, pedestrians, and vehicles such as motorbikes with engines under 50cc from using the motorway (Rule 253).

However, this was far from the first time police have been forced to stop a rider who has illegally ventured onto the motorway.

In October last year, the Central Motorway Police Group (CMPG) picked up a delivery rider, also using the M6. The rider was cycling southbound between junction 7, Great Barr, and Junction 6, Spaghetti Junction.

Tagging the delivery service 'Deliveroo' in their post, the police added: "The motorway is no place for delivery riders it's an offence and highly dangerous. @Deliveroo".

Going back to May 2022, a cyclist was forced onto the verge by police in Hampshire, after riding the second lane of the M3 motorway.

The policing unit said that the rider "did not want to stop for us, continued into Lane 3." They added that the cyclist "eventually had to be forced onto the verge area where the rider was detained."

The most famous incident involving cyclists on the motorway occured in 2014, when four athletes from the Sri Lankan Commonwealth Games were stopped as they carried out a training ride on the M47 in Scotland, with the Bahamas team stopped days later, riding on the M80, near Glasgow.