Abstract:
“Finally there is hope of speeding up.” Recently, a revised draft of the Road Traffic Safety Law was submitted to the Standing Committee of the 14th National People’s Congress for its first review, in which it is proposed to increase the maximum speed of electric bicycles in non-motorized lanes from 15 kilometers per hour to 20 kilometers per hour. In addition, the draft also mentions that electric bicycles are not allowed to drive in the opposite direction, speed, or make or answer handheld phones while driving on the road.
Article | "BUG" column Chen Sizhu
It should be noted that this adjustment is the road speed limit, not the product design upper limit. According to the new version of the national standard GB17761-2024 that will be implemented in September 2025, the maximum design speed of electric bicycles is still 25km/h. This revision does not involve adjustments to product standards.
As soon as the news came out, it immediately attracted the attention of countless electric bicycle owners. "This regulation is definitely better than before. In the past, the speed limit of 15 was sometimes too slow, almost as fast as a bicycle." A car owner who has relied on "e-mules" for commuting for a long time said.
However, at present, major electric vehicle manufacturers have not yet caught up with their actions. The "BUG" column contacted a number of electric vehicle brands and learned that current electric vehicles generally trigger warnings when the speed is higher than 15km/h. Regarding whether there will be any adjustments to this rule, the customer service staff of each manufacturer stated that they have not yet received a notification. "There will be a series of adjustments only after the red-headed documents are actually issued."
There will be an alarm if the speed exceeds 15km/h
Customer Service: There is currently no update notification
What needs to be distinguished is that this policy adjustment is not the "maximum design speed of electric bicycles not exceeding 25km/h" that public opinion is concerned about. Rather, it is the upper limit of speed when an electric bicycle is actually driven on the road.
Previously, Article 58 of the "Road Traffic Safety Law" clearly stipulated: "Non-motorized vehicles shall drive in non-motorized lanes; on roads without non-motorized lanes, they shall drive on the right side of the roadway." "When electric bicycles are driven in non-motorized lanes, the maximum speed shall not exceed 15 kilometers per hour."
Under this regulation, most electric vehicle brands have added an "early warning system" to their products. According to the "BUG" column, brands including No.9, Emma, Yadea, Tailing, and Maverick Electric will basically trigger the warning system when the vehicle speed reaches about 15km/h, and the vehicle itself will continuously emit beeps to prompt the owner to reduce the speed.
However, the "BUG" column also saw that the speed conditions for this early warning system to work on different brands and different products are also slightly different. For example, a Yadi store owner said that the early warning will only be triggered when driving on the road at 20km/h. The customer service of No.9 Company also said that this warning sound will not sound until it exceeds 22km/h.
However, when asked about the modification of the speed limit policy, whether its products will be updated accordingly. The customer service staff of the above-mentioned electric bicycle brands have stated that they have not received relevant adjustment notices, and the early warning system will not be changed at this stage. "We have also paid attention to this matter, but the specific adjustment measures will have to wait until the official document is implemented. It is still a draft, and the red-headed document has not yet been released." Yadi customer service said. Maverick Electric’s customer service also recognized this statement, “This adjustment should be done slowly.”
As for whether the "early warning" function of electric bicycles will be actively updated in response to policy adjustments, Maverick Electric's customer service said that new products may be adjusted in this regard, "but for products that have been sold, the official does not currently support the update of the early warning system, and there are currently no countermeasures."
However, this problem is easier to deal with in offline stores. An offline store owner of a certain brand said that the speed limit warning sound can be modified and adjusted. "After modification, the range of the alarm sound can be increased." He hinted.
This phenomenon also points directly to the current "modified" gray market for electric bicycles. According to China Business News, corresponding "modification services" are provided in offline electric bicycle sales outlets and repair shops. The maximum driving speed of an electric bicycle can reach 40-60km/h, and the modification time only takes less than 20 minutes.
However, this increase in the top speed of electric bicycles can also hit the gray modification industry to a certain extent. "For ordinary users, 20km/h is closer to the body feeling and can meet some life needs. And now companies are investing more and more in anti-tampering technology, and the difficulty and cost of modification are also increasing, so the demand for this gray industry will shrink." Bo Wenxi, deputy director of the China Enterprise Capital Alliance, told the "BUG" column.
Why 20km/h?
From 15km/h to 20km/h, is it just a number that changes?
The answer is not that simple. This speed limit adjustment is a systematic calibration of three dimensions: product standards, road regulations, and safety facilities.
On social platforms, one of the most frequently mentioned questions regarding this adjustment is: Since the new national standard already allows electric bicycles to run up to 25km/h, why is the road speed limit not directly aligned to 25km/h?
In this regard, Yu Lingyun, a professor at Tsinghua University Law School, gave a clear explanation in his communication with the media: "National standards are technically mandatory regulations, and technical standards are different from the standards stipulated in the law. The same is true for motor vehicles. Judging from the factory standards, motor vehicles can actually drive to 200km/h or even higher, but on expressways, the speed limit is 120km/h."
In addition, Yu Lingyun believes that traffic safety mainly depends on the speed difference. 25km/h on the product side is the "capacity upper limit" of the vehicle, and 20km/h on the road side is the "driving upper limit". There is a safety redundancy of 5km/h between the two, which is exactly the same as the logic of a motor vehicle "can run 200mph and has a high-speed limit of 120mph".
This judgment has also been confirmed by the industry level. The Q&A on the main technical content of the "Electric Bicycle Safety Technical Specifications" (GB17761-2024) published on the Chinese government website clearly states: "In order to reduce traffic casualties and protect the safety of people's lives and property, the maximum design speed of the vehicle should not be too high." The new standard maintains the maximum design speed at no more than 25km/h, and adds the requirement that the motor should stop providing power output when exceeding 25km/h, while "strengthening anti-tampering design such as speed."
This increase in speed limit to 20km/h is objectively a response to the development of the electric bicycle industry.
Article 58 of the current Road Traffic Law stipulates that "the maximum speed of electric bicycles when traveling in non-motorized lanes shall not exceed 15 kilometers per hour." This has not changed for 22 years since it was implemented on May 1, 2004.
In response to this regulation, Bai Wenxi believes that actual measurements show that the speed of human-powered bicycles can reach 15km/h. "This increase to 20km/h is a realistic response to the 380 million electric bicycles in the market, and it also allows for a more accurate adaptation of the law and reality."
In conversations with the "BUG" column, many ordinary car owners also expressed support for this policy. "Before, 15km/h was a bit slow and would delay time, but 20km/h is better." Some car owners said that the speed they were used to before was 20km/h, which can meet some commuting needs.
However, some users are worried that after the speed limit is increased, it will be more dangerous on the road.
For this question, the data released by Han Pengda, director of the dispatch and command center of the Beijing Emergency Center, at the electric bicycle traffic safety theme promotion event in April 2026 can answer: In fatal accidents caused by electric bicycles, 70%-80% of fatal injuries are caused by craniocerebral injuries; when not wearing a helmet, the risk of fatal injury is more than three times that of a person wearing a helmet; and wearing a helmet correctly can reduce the risk of serious head injury and death by 60%-70%.
It can be seen that what really determines the safety of riding is not just the speed number of 15 or 20, but the helmet on the rider. It is not difficult to read the draft regulations carefully and find that increasing the speed limit is only part of the content related to electric bicycles in the revision of the Road Traffic Law. The draft also clearly stipulates that electric bicycle drivers and passengers should wear safety helmets in accordance with regulations, and are not allowed to drive in the opposite direction, speed, violate traffic signals, make or answer handheld phones, watch videos, etc.
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