Cambridge e-bike fire survivor backs Government pledge over battery risks
A new Bill aims to address challenges that come with e-bikes and their batteries
A Cambridge man who lost his family when an e-bike battery exploded hopes plans to tackle the risks they can cause leads to tougher safety measures.
The new Labour Government said it will look to "address challenges, such as the fire risk associated with e-bikes and lithium-ion batteries" as part of a Product Safety and Metrology Bill.
In the Bill, the Government aims to "support growth, provide regulatory stability and deliver more protection for consumers".
"What happened to me should never have happened"
Scott Peden's partner and two children were killed after an e-bike fire at their home last year.
"It's one of the best things that could happen, it means the Government will finally do something about it (e-bike batteries) and hope they do the right things in the right places," he said.
"It's massively important; what happened to me should never have happened and I pray to God daily that this will not happen to anyone else.
"The fact they are looking at off-the-brand batteries is an amazing thing and we're going to push to make sure the right legislations are brought in to make sure we get the best results from whatever happens next."
Last week, we reported Scott's calls for the Government to bring in tougher regulation on e-bike batteries and raise awareness on the dangers that e-bikes can bring.
Since the fire, Scott has been leading calls for tougher safety laws around e-bike batteries, which is something we've been looking into as part of our investigation.
Last month, Electrical Safety First (ESF) called on all political parties to agree on legislation around third party certification for e-bikes, e-scooters and their batteries to help prevent future deaths.
Giuseppe Capanna is a product safety engineer at ESF:
"It's important the legislation goes that step to ensure the testing takes place before the products are put on the market," he said.
"Because these products do carry a certain amount of risk because of the amount of energy that's crammed into such a small place, we need to treat them like a high risk product, in the same way as we treat heavy machinery or fireworks.
"For Scott, it's too late that this has happened but I think it's a positive step and I think he'll see that if the legislation gets in place, it will stop other people having to experience what he's gone through."