Police officers in Britain could be armed with Ghostbusters-style devices that fire electromagnetic rays to shut down the engines of ebikes being used in a crime.
Gavin Stephens, chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), said the weapon was in development and could be months away from being available, though it is expected to be longer than that.
He said it would be housed in a backpack, reminiscent of the equipment used in the Ghostbusters series of movies. It could tackle crime linked to newer vehicles such as electric bikes and electric scooters.
The device is being developed with the Defence Science and Technology Lab, which is overseen by the Ministry of Defence, alongside other technological innovations that British police are hoping to use. It would fire an electromagnetic pulse at a vehicle that an officer wants to stop because the rider is suspected of involvement in a crime.
The electromagnetic weapon works by tricking the engine into thinking it is overheating, which shuts down the engine and brings the vehicle to a stop. It requires a line of sight to work, Stephens said.
This has real “tv detector van” vibes.
I seriously doubt they can create a HERF gun strong enough to disable an e-bike that won’t screw with phones and pacemakers, or cause a lithium battery explosion.
Firing EMPs in urban areas does not sound a great idea at all. That’s a lot of potential collator damage on top of an already potential dangerous police action.
There are already methods police can use to stop moving vehicles, which would work on electric vehicles as well as existing ICE vehicles. These are still bikes, not magic carpets or something. Stopping a moving vehicle is also dangerous in itself, and it doesn’t sound a great idea to add to that the chances of frying everything from police equipment to vital medical devices that happens to be in the blast area.
So fry 30 phones to get back the one stolen phone? Nice idea!
Also, good thing an e-bike does not work any longer without a motor…
“police shocked to find out ebikes also come with pedals”
Lol, not all of them do. All least according to the ebikes sub on Reddit.
To be classed as a ebike legally in the UK. Where we are talking about.
It must make a max speed (15mph) i think max power ( 250w for 2 wheel higher for 3 wheeler) and be classed as electrically assisted. IE peddling has to be an option both when powered and not powered.
If any of those rules are not met. It is legally an electric motorbike. And must meet the laws for a motorbike. Including a licence.
As I can’t drive due to vision. Whe it was a little better I was looking into the rules of making a ebike conversion. This was a while ago. So some things may have changed a little. But the ebike vs motorbike requiring a licence principal still applies.
Hence why things like escooter are basically illegal on public roads. (With a few experimental exception s for hire ones. That require a depriving licence.
