Experts reject calls to raise moped speed limit

Young people in Lahti want mopeds to travel faster than the current 45 kilometres per hour, but experts say the issue involves safety, vehicle design and driver experience, Yle reports.

Long-time moped enthusiast Roni Saariniemi said modern mopeds are technically far more advanced than when the current speed limits were set. He suggested raising the legal speed limit to 60 kilometres per hour.

According to Saariniemi, suspension systems, frames and other components have become considerably more durable.

Aapo Isoaho, a senior superintendent at the Western Uusimaa Police Department, disagrees. He said modifying a moped changes its construction in ways that can affect safety.

When a moped travels well above 45 kilometres per hour, the safety characteristics of its frame, suspension and tyres may no longer match its speed, Isoaho said. The brakes may also lack sufficient stopping power.

Joona Pennanen, a supervisor at Lahti-based MP-Service, said moped frames and brakes have developed over the decades. He estimated that a moped’s structural speed might be around 50 to 55 kilometres per hour, but said raising the legal limit would still not be sensible.

For many people, a moped is their first vehicle in traffic, and young drivers may not yet have enough experience of dangerous situations or of how other road users behave, Pennanen said. In his view, the more important question is whether the driver can cope with a higher speed.

Modifying mopeds has also become a concern because it is common and easy to do. In a survey by the Finnish Road Safety Council, nearly one in four young respondents said they had driven a modified moped. Among boys, the figure was as high as one in three.

Moped enthusiast Luka Tuomi estimated that as many as half of the mopeds encountered in traffic may have been modified, although he stressed that this was his own estimate and not a statistic. Minna Jokinen, a training instructor at the Finnish Road Safety Council, said the figures raised concerns that riding a legally compliant moped might be seen as embarrassing among young people.

Jokinen said peer pressure also contributes to the phenomenon. When friends modify their mopeds, it becomes easier for others to join in.

Young people said electronic limiters can make modified mopeds more difficult to detect during enforcement. The limiter can be switched on so that the moped once again travels at only 45 kilometres per hour.

Tuomi said modification is not only about increasing speed. Building and customising mopeds is itself an important part of the hobby, he said. Venni Hiltunen added that modifying mopeds is easy because instructions for different models are available online.

The Finnish Road Safety Council also warns that modified mopeds are harder for other road users to assess. If a driver assumes that a moped can travel no faster than 45 kilometres per hour, a faster-moving moped may arrive in a situation unexpectedly quickly.

The young people interviewed by Yle argued that a higher permitted speed could reduce dangerous overtaking and help mopeds keep up with other traffic. Experts nevertheless emphasised that higher speeds also require greater experience from the driver.

Moped modification became a topic of discussion after a moped accident in Tuusula a couple of weeks earlier. A video showed a moped rider accelerating to almost 100 kilometres per hour.