The lawyer dubbed Mr Loophole for his work regarding road safety and enforcement is calling for electric bicycles to have identification, and for their riders to be required to have insurance.

Solicitor Nick Freeman has told the Mail on Sunday newspaper: ‘If an e-bike is ridden by a fit person and it is going over 15.5mph, it’s a moped. We have this ridiculous situation where it morphs into something else – it moves from very little regulation to full regulation. It’s impossible to legislate for. It is an impasse and it doesn’t work.”

He told the paper e-bikes should come under the Road Traffic Act, forcing riders to have helmets, insurance and a number plate.

Iain Stewart, chairman of the Commons Transport Committee, added: “There is a case for looking at insurance arrangements. I don’t think the regulations are a good fit for new technologies.

“It’s not just e-bikes – there are issues with e-scooters and driver-assist/self-driving technology increasingly embedded in cars.”

Other MPs also supported more regulation, while Tony Campbell, chief executive of the Motor Cycle Industry Association, which represents the industry, called for new laws to include anti-tampering measures to outlaw e-bikes being modified for faster speeds, telling the Mail on Sunday: “We are in favour of reviewing regulation as it is clear it is outdated.”

The newspaper’s columnist Peter Hitchens featured on a Highways Voices podcast discussing the dangers of e-scooters which he called “a recipe for injury. Listen here.

(File Picture – Transport Scotland)