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There are alternatives to 49cc quadricycles. The definition of a quadricycle is a 4 wheeled vehicle with an unladen weight not exceeding 350 kg excluding the weight of batteries is powered by electricity.
Citroen make a quadricycle called the Ami which costs about 7.5K in the UK, has a top speed of 29 mph and a range of around 40 miles. I, too, would be worried about a child or grandchild of mine driving about in a small vehicle like this but if the alternative is a moped, electric bicycle, a push bike, or one of those lethal electric scooters, I think a small car with some bodywork around you is a better bet.
The car also has 2 seats and seatbelts so definitely safer than a pillion.
You have misunderstood the licence categories – B1 was set up to cover 3 wheeled invalid carriages (those evil blue things that cost more than a properly converted car) and is now redundant and is not included on driving licences for new drivers.
The category covering quadricycles is category AM, a strange category as it covers mopeds and 4 wheeled vehicles under 350 kg unladen weight excluding the weight of batteries if electrically propelled (which includes the Citroen Ami).
The category was introduced by the 3rd Directive and came into force on 13/01/1997. The minimum age is 16. To ride a moped you have to have passed the compulsory training in the last 2 years but I am not certain whether this applies to quadricycles as well – I assume it does but it is not something I have researched yet.
A good category table is included in the notes to the DVLA D9 form which can easily be downloaded, just google D9 Form. The table includes notes and minimum ages.
When the consultation on the 3rd Directive was being done there was a discussion at a road safety group meeting about category AM. The consensus was that putting 16 year olds in quadricycles without having to pass a practical driving test on one was not ideal, but probably safer than having 16 year olds ride mopeds where they had much less protection.
Despite the category being in place for 24 years you very seldom see quadricycles in the UK, apart from the occasional quad. In France they are quite common. I suspect the Citroen Ami May change that – the new Ami Cargo is coming to the UK in 2022 and I expect it to be quite popular with the light delivery industry – pizzas, eats, etc as it would be able to carry more and will probably prove safer. I often question the legality of sending kids out on mopeds doing deliveries on provisional licences – under H&S law it looks very suspect to me!
Most top boxes are fixed above and behind the back wheel of the motorcycle so the weight distribution is very different to carrying a pillion passenger, and a inert weight does not move and lean into a turn like an experienced pillion passenger, so the two do not made a good direct comparison. Top boxes are either fitted to a carrier or come their own brackets which may allow some flex so it is possible that vibration or oscillation could build up which could effect the handling. However, a significant overload that affected the handling would quickly be obvious to even an inexperienced rider – I remember putting a 36lb case of dog food on the carrier of a Honda CB250 (when I was young and foolish) but I felt the difference in handling at once and moderated my riding till I got home.
I do not think that 1kg over could be significant on a large motorcycle unless it was ridden at extreme speed. When you consider the weights regularly carried on small mopeds by provisional licence holders (i.e.untrained and inexperienced riders) doing food deliveries, it would take a lot more than a couple of kilograms to make a machine unstable!
