NY Legalizing E-Bikes?

[deerfencer1]

At long last it looks like it might actually happen. 20 mph top speed
and a healthy 1000W e-motor max limit is in the bill under
consideration. Sweet if it passes, though I'm sure they'll be some
horror stories from NYC once the crazed bike messengers get a hold of
them. NYCE-bikes sez they're selling 500 e-bikes a year, and had been
seeing a steady 40% annual increase in sales until the economy tanked.

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/20/despite-ban-electric-bikes-gain-favor-on-city-streets/

LH

[Geo Rider]

This all sounds very good. I'm sure the laws will settle into
something close to what's in place for mopeds. They're complex but at
least it makes it possible to ride legally.

I also noticed that Metro North has changed it's bicycle policies.
Slightly more bike friendly with folding bikes now allowed on all
trains. Other bikes are still more restricted but basically I've
found in practice that it boils down to the discretion of the
conductor who usually allows them as long as it's not over crowded.

Best,
Joe

> http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/20/despite-ban-electric-bik...
>
> LH

[Paul_G]

I thought the bike laws were changed to allow electric bike back in
2008

A 189, notice at the end it said it takes effect immediately.....but
maybe it still needs a vote?

BILL TEXT:


STATE OF NEW YORK

________________________________________________________________________

189

2007-2008 Regular Sessions

IN ASSEMBLY

(Prefiled)

January 3, 2007
___________

Introduced by M. of A. GANTT -- read once and referred to the
Committee
on Transportation

AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to
the defi-
nition of electric assisted bicycle

The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate
and Assem-
bly, do enact as follows:

1 Section 1. The vehicle and traffic law is amended by
adding a new
2 section 102-c to read as follows:
3 § 102-c. Electric assisted bicycle. A bicycle with two or
three wheels
4 which has a saddle and fully operative pedals for human
propulsion and
5 also has an electric motor. The electric assisted
bicycle's electric
6 motor shall: have a power output of not more than one thousand
watts; be
7 incapable of propelling the device at a speed of more than
twenty miles
8 per hour on level ground; and be incapable of further
increasing the
9 speed of the device when human power is used to propel the
device at or
10 more than twenty miles per hour.
11 § 2. Section 125 of the vehicle and traffic law, as amended
by chapter
12 374 of the laws of 1991, is amended to read as follows:
13 § 125. Motor vehicles. Every vehicle operated or driven
upon a public
14 highway which is propelled by any power other than
muscular power,
15 except (a) electrically-driven mobility assistance devices
operated or
16 driven by a person with a disability, (b) vehicles which run
only upon
17 rails or tracks, (c) snowmobiles as defined in article
forty-seven of
18 this chapter, [and] (d) all terrain vehicles as defined
in article
19 forty-eight-B of this chapter, and (e) electric assisted
bicycles as
20 defined in section one hundred two-c of this article. For
the purposes
21 of title four, the term motor vehicle shall exclude fire
and police
22 vehicles other than ambulances. For the purposes of titles
four and five
23 the term motor vehicles shall exclude farm type tractors and
all terrain
24 type vehicles used exclusively for agricultural purposes, or
for snow

EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter
in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.

LBD02750-01-7

A. 189 2

1 plowing, other than for hire, farm equipment, including self-
propelled
2 machines used exclusively in growing, harvesting or
handling farm
3 produce, and self-propelled caterpillar or crawler-type
equipment while
4 being operated on the contract site.
5 § 3. The vehicle and traffic law is amended by adding a
new section
6 1238-a to read as follows:
7 § 1238-a. Additional provisions applicable to electric
assisted bicy-
8 cles, operators and passengers. 1. In addition to complying
with all of
9 the rules, regulations and provisions applicable to bicycles
contained
10 in this article, an electric assisted bicycle as defined in
section one
11 hundred two-c of this chapter shall comply with the
following require-
12 ments:
13 (a) Meet the equipment and manufacturing requirements
for bicycles
14 adopted by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (16 C.F.R.
1512.1, et
15 seq.) or the requirements adopted by the National Highway
Traffic Safety
16 Administration (49 C.F.R. 571.1, et seq.) in
accordance with the
17 National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966 (15
U.S.C. Sec.
18 1381, et seq.) for motor driven cycles; and
19 (b) Operate in a manner so that the electric motor is
disengaged or
20 ceases to function when the brakes are applied, or operate in
a manner
21 such that the motor is engaged through a switch or mechanism
that, when
22 released, will cause the electric motor to disengage or cease
to func-
23 tion.
24 2. Notwithstanding the provisions of section twelve
hundred thirty-
25 eight of this article, no person less than sixteen years of
age shall
26 operate or ride as a passenger upon an electric assisted
bicycle, and no
27 person sixteen years of age or older shall allow any person
less than
28 sixteen years of age to operate or ride as a passenger upon
such bicy-
29 cle.
30 3. No person sixteen years of age or older shall operate or
ride as a
31 passenger on an electric assisted bicycle unless such person
is wearing
32 a helmet meeting standards established by the
commissioner. For the
33 purposes of this subdivision, wearing a helmet means having a
helmet of
34 good fit fastened securely on the head of such wearer with
the helmet
35 straps securely fastened.
36 4. (a) Any person who violates the provisions of
subdivision two or
37 three of this section shall pay a civil fine not to
exceed fifty
38 dollars.
39 (b) The court shall waive any fine for which a person who
violates the
40 provisions of subdivision three of this section would be
liable if such
41 person supplies the court with proof that between the date of
violation
42 and the appearance date for such violation such person
purchased or
43 rented a helmet.
44 (c) The court may waive any fine for which a person who
violates the
45 provisions of subdivision three of this section would be
liable if the
46 court finds that due to reasons of economic hardship such
person was
47 unable to purchase a helmet or due to such economic hardship
such person
48 was unable to obtain a helmet from the statewide in-line skate
and bicy-
49 cle helmet distribution program, as established in section
two hundred
50 six of the public health law, or a local distribution program.
51 5. The failure of any person to comply with the
provisions of this
52 section shall not constitute contributory negligence or
assumption of
53 risk, and shall not in any way bar, preclude or foreclose an
action for
54 personal injury or wrongful death by or on behalf of such
person, nor in
55 any way diminish or reduce the damages recoverable in any such
action.

A. 189 3

1 6. A police officer shall only issue a summons for a
violation of
2 subdivision two or three of this section by a person less
than sixteen
3 years of age to the parent or guardian of such person if the
violation
4 by such person occurs in the presence of such person's parent
or guardi-
5 an and where such parent or guardian is eighteen years of
age or more.
6 Such summons shall only be issued to such parent or guardian,
and shall
7 not be issued to the person less than sixteen years of age.
8 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.


Paul G

[OptOut]

Ugh I no speaka legalese 2 good. Is that more than just a legal
definition of an e-bike?

Best,
Joe (mobile)

[deerfencer1]

On Oct 24, 10:47 am, OptOut <optib...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Ugh I no speaka legalese 2 good. Is that more than just a legal
> definition of an e-bike?

There's a helmet requirement in there as well, Joe, which is a very
good thing. Also, e-bike operators must be at least 16 years old.

The 1000W e-assist limit is excellent IMO and Uma can meet it with a
simple flick of the Turbo button should I ever get challenged. I'd
have preferred a 25 mph speed cap but can live with 20 as this would
be very hard to enforce given that the bill acknowledges that pedal
power can easily get the bike up over 20 mph--you're just not supposed
to use the motor to help you get there.

Given that almost all my rides are on fairly quiet country roads I
don't see a problem here for myself--or for most any responsible rider
who uses caution in traffic and around pedestrians and other bikes.

LH

[deerfencer1]

Here's a link to a much more legible version of the bill, which
according to Wikipedia, passed the NY State Assembly in March of 2009
and is now before the Senate, where final approval is almost certain
given there was all of one NAY vote in the Assembly. Sweet.

http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?bn=A02393

LH

[deerfencer1]

Actually, that link was to a summary of the bill. Here's the bill
itself, which is a bit crudely written IMO and which I think is
identical to the one Paul posted earlier.

Apparently it's been kicking around Albany since early 2007 but
appears to finally be on the verge of adoption:

http://204.97.104.2/leg/?bn=A02393&sh=t


LH

> ...
>
> read more »Actuall

[plasmadust]

and be incapable of further
increasing the
9 speed of the device when human power is used to propel the
device at or
10 more than twenty miles per hour.

I isant no lawyur, but duz that thar meen yuz caint rides a bizical
over 20 milz pur ower??

DC

[deerfencer1]

My reading of it is that you can't use the motor to help increase your
speed over 20 mph--but that pedal power alone over that speed is not a
problem. Hard to restrict gravity and momentum.

LH