New Jersey Would Be Foolish To Require E-Bike Insurance & Registration

The latest info from the NJ Bike and Walk Coalition: https://njbwc.org/bill-s2292/

So people against the bill (including representatives of insurance companies who don't want to touch mandatory ebike insurance!) have already testified. The result? The Senate Head (who introduced this ridiculous bill without any forethought) is "well-aware of the input and will work on amendments and meet with advocates.”

In other words, he's determined to push something through. Okay, here's a thought: Leave pedal assist bicycles alone. Focus your energies to squeeze a dime from constitutents by going after the mini-motorbike crowd; the same crowd who likely are at the root of near every single beef a local or state govt agency has with e-powered bicycles.

And again, this is not about building up a funding source for new bike trails and roadways. Nor is it about creating teaching moments for Bike Safety. No, this money from an ebike license and registration simply will go into the State's general fund.
 
I’m curious to know how it will affect bikers from other states passing through. I live north of the new Jersey border in NY state but quite often I pass through NJ. Hopefully it will be like car inspection laws were a NJ policeman cannot give a NY car a ticket for expired inspection. I’m legitimately handicapped where an ebike for me is like a car with special features for someone that’s partially paralyzed . I just hope it doesn’t become an issue for me.
 
Latest update as of 19 Jan 2026: the outgoing governor signed the ebike legislation bill. So now, Class One ebikes are in the same grouping as the high powered mini-electric motorcycles. So..... if I want to continue riding this Yamaha powered Haibike, pedal assist; I'll have to have it registered as well as insured. My automobile license will serve as an ebike license (Win-Win! lol bs :rolleyes: ).

Again, with this socialist state, you follow the money (which I've been doing since I began driving in 1977 and was faced with some high rate premiums just cause I was lumped in my age grouping--17 to 30). And in this case, the money for registration and licenses won't be funneled back into building more municipal or off-road trails; it's just going to go back into their bottomless pit of a general fund, where they can squander it with their sanctuary city policies; etc.

Not surprised with this "law". It's what nanny-state, socialist democrat one-party rule states like mine, do. I sure didn't nor will ever, vote for this kind of "rule". But here we are. Welcome to New Jermany. Now, don't mind me. I have to run off and pay my utility bill.... a bill that has risen some 200 percent in the past year. Why is that? Cause the Socialist Democrats in charge elected to have every coal fired power plant in the state shuttered forever. The Natural Gas Fired Duck Island generation plant was torn down too; and in it's place went up another Amazon Warehouse.......which of course recieves a small property tax bill under the PILOT program, a program designed to allow big warehouses minimal property tax payments in return for the promise of jobs. It seems the idiots in Trenton running this s*it show of state government forgot about the idea that if you remove XX number of power generation plants feeding the grid, you and the citizens of your state will have to buy power off the market at a much higher rate! No, you can't make this stuff up.....

For those in New York, Illinois, California and other "pergressive, one-party democrap rule states......... this is your future, coming like a freight train..... or maybe a Sur-Ron.
 
6zfshdb said:
Do these requirements apply to e-bikes on off road trail
Click to expand...
Taken from a post on the MTBNJ site:
This is in the bill:
no low-speed electric bicycle or motorized bicycle, as those terms are defined by R.S. 39:1-1, shall be operated on the public highways or on public lands of this State unless registered by the owner

Public lands would include the vast New Jersey Pine Barrens; as those areas are patroled by NJ Parks Police. Regarding the Pine Barrens, just in the past 2 years, there has been a big crackdown by Park Rangers in closing off entire roads to vehicles, but especially dual sport motorcycles & even mountain bikes. Figure insurance and registration required for any State Park trail under the jurisdiction of NJ enforcement. And after that, there really are not any public off road trails I can think of in the state.

Wondering what this will mean to the PA ebiker who rides the D&L Trail and decides to cross the Delaware River and ride the D&R trail. Or who says to his or her significant other "Hey Honey, let's pack up the ebikes and take an overnight trip down to Cape May!"

This really has me seething. It is beyond heavy handed. Yet, it is so typical of how the one party state government acts towards it's citizen taxpayers. The cause of this draconian legislation were a couple fatalities up in North Jersey involving children.

Almost forgot: In this bill, the online sale of ebikes in New Jermany is now prohibited for one year. That means if you want to get out of this scam by selling your ebike on craigslist or facebook marketplace.......well, now you can't. For one whole year. LOL

Also, the sale and installation of speed chips or other modifications to increase the speed of an ebike is prohibited.
 
Mike TowpathTraveler said:
Latest update as of 19 Jan 2026: the outgoing governor signed the ebike legislation bill. So now, Class One ebikes are in the same grouping as the high powered mini-electric motorcycles. So..... if I want to continue riding this Yamaha powered Haibike, pedal assist; I'll have to have it registered as well as insured. My automobile license will serve as an ebike license (Win-Win! lol bs :rolleyes: ).

Again, with this socialist state, you follow the money (which I've been doing since I began driving in 1977 and was faced with some high rate premiums just cause I was lumped in my age grouping--17 to 30). And in this case, the money for registration and licenses won't be funneled back into building more municipal or off-road trails; it's just going to go back into their bottomless pit of a general fund, where they can squander it with their sanctuary city policies; etc.

Not surprised with this "law". It's what nanny-state, socialist democrat one-party rule states like mine, do. I sure didn't nor will ever, vote for this kind of "rule". But here we are. Welcome to New Jermany. Now, don't mind me. I have to run off and pay my utility bill.... a bill that has risen some 200 percent in the past year. Why is that? Cause the Socialist Democrats in charge elected to have every coal fired power plant in the state shuttered forever. The Natural Gas Fired Duck Island generation plant was torn down too; and in it's place went up another Amazon Warehouse.......which of course recieves a small property tax bill under the PILOT program, a program designed to allow big warehouses minimal property tax payments in return for the promise of jobs. It seems the idiots in Trenton running this s*it show of state government forgot about the idea that if you remove XX number of power generation plants feeding the grid, you and the citizens of your state will have to buy power off the market at a much higher rate! No, you can't make this stuff up.....

For those in New York, Illinois, California and other "pergressive, one-party democrap rule states......... this is your future, coming like a freight train..... or maybe a Sur-Ron.
Click to expand...
Jesus christ, the west has decided on fascist totalitarionism and theyre in Davos now planning their next move.
It absolutely will be pedal cyclists and pedestrians next , in the UK we are facing the absolute removal of privacy and the mandatory monitoring of every thought.
You will be next, one by one they will remove your freedoms and even your memory of such things and your protests will be drowned by a chorus of approval of state control with both sides claiming to be the victims and saviours.
Every visitor to continental Europe now has to hand over their biometric data to the EU superstate and within 50 years your declaration of independence will be renamed a dangerous revolution.

What a time to be alive, I thank the Lord I got to live most of my days before the eye of Sauron.
 
i don't have much of a dog in this fight, but i just have to ask : are the people who write this media morons? or are they trying to be obtuse? or am i a moron?

this is very confusing. first they list two types of e-bikes. 20mph ones and then 28mph ones, which they say are treated similarly to motorized bicycles.

then they say all e-bikes require a licensed rider. ok.

then they say you need a drivers license to be a licensed rider ... OR obtain a motorized bicycle license. (which is what class 3 bikes are "treated similarly to."

then it specifically says how you get a motorized bicycle (class 3 e-bike) license.

so : if you don't have a drivers license, can you ride a class 1/2 20mph bike? i assume not since it says "all e-bikes now require..." but they don't say that 1/2 bikes are similar to motorized bicycles, nor do they say what kind of license you need, or what the requirements are. 15 lines of text and somehow i still don't know if a 15 year old can ride a class 1 e-bike without a license, i suspect they can't, but i have no idea how they get a license to do so.

njwtf.JPG
 
Just more PLATE GLASS STOMACH POLITICIONS,
that DON'T have ANY common sense.....
that were voted on by the sheepople that don't have any common sense........
any more.
 
mschwett said:
i don't have much of a dog in this fight, but i just have to ask : are the people who write this media morons? or are they trying to be obtuse? or am i a moron?

this is very confusing. first they list two types of e-bikes. 20mph ones and then 28mph ones, which they say are treated similarly to motorized bicycles.

then they say all e-bikes require a licensed rider. ok.

then they say you need a drivers license to be a licensed rider ... OR obtain a motorized bicycle license. (which is what class 3 bikes are "treated similarly to."

then it specifically says how you get a motorized bicycle (class 3 e-bike) license.

so : if you don't have a drivers license, can you ride a class 1/2 20mph bike? i assume not since it says "all e-bikes now require..." but they don't say that 1/2 bikes are similar to motorized bicycles, nor do they say what kind of license you need, or what the requirements are. 15 lines of text and somehow i still don't know if a 15 year old can ride a class 1 e-bike without a license, i suspect they can't, but i have no idea how they get a license to do so.

View attachment 204912
Click to expand...
It seems pretty clear to me. Throw out Class 1, 2, 3 ebikes as recognized by NJ prior to 19 Jan 2026; where no license, no insurance nor no registration were required as it does under this ridiculous sham law. ALL ebikes are now lumped together; requiring a license (Drivers license is recognized as acceptable OR if no DL, you will have to apply for a Motorized Bicycle License...... take the written test, provide proof of your existence as a citizen of New Jermany; eye exam, road test, pays your money at the window thank you very much). Kids under 15-no ebikes allowed.

Here is where my own Catch22 with this nonsense begins: I bought my Haibike Full FatSix at Crazy Lenny's in early 2017. There is no title. Just a bill of sale, which I will have to dig up. Now, in that sales receipt, these state workers at the DMV in my opinion are going to note that I did not pay sales tax to NJ in that purchase! And with any registration here, be it car, truck, boat, they want their cut in that sales tax. So that is the opening dilemma I face along with likely thousands of others who bought online prior to NJ charging sales tax on all internet-bought ebikes! Are they actually going to issue a title for my Haibike? How deep will their stupidity go in this fiasco? But right now, I'm not feeling good about dishing out 200 some odd dollars for a sales tax they'd be holding me up for at the DMV window! I think this will be the next shoe to drop for thousands of NJ ebike owners when they go to the DMV for their registration and plate......
 
The icing on the cake will be all tested, insured, plated , helmeted and type approved, then get a pedal cyclist tearing past wearing a flower pot on his head and giving the cops the fingah.
 
In my state, Virginia, DMV can't even keep up with illegal cars! No insurance, expired state inspections and even way expired tags? Virginia will welcome you on our roads! This started because some politician telling the police they can't pull a car for a expired plate tag or outdated state inspection. "Our citizens fall on hard times and can't always afford the basics." is along the lines this clown said. So if this law spreads here, whatever. People say the police have nothing better to do than harass you for something trivial. In Virginia the police are told to stand down and not enforce simple laws.

When we had to get license plates for mopeds (The precursor to ebikes so to speak.) DMV had a rough time dealing with irate customers, me included. DMV eventually changed the registration rules so mopeds just pay a basic/fixed plate fee every year. No tax because value can't really be pinned down. If New Jersey really goes after this ruling then only time will tell how it will finally be implemented, just like mopeds in Virginia. I'd just do like Virginian's do till then: Ride dirty until you finally get caught.
 
I understand that regulation coming to this industry is disruptive, a pain in the ass, costly, and in some ways, unrealistic. I inquired about e-bike insurance in MA, and you can't get it. If the numbskull leading the charge on Beacon Hill enacts this, it's going to be a shyte show, or it's going to be ignored. Both are bad.

I think this law doesn't go far enough. It should include all bikes, analog and electric. There was a time when you had to register your analog bicycle and put a sticker or plate on it. Requiring registration, training, identification, and insurance levels the playing field for all road users. No longer can car drivers whine that bike and e-bike riders "don't pay any taxes or registration fees so they don't belong on the road". With a visible registration number, dangerous riders can at least be identified, and insurance protects me from them.

I see this as a sign of maturity and acceptance of bicycles in general. It takes them from what most people see as a toy and recognizes them as what they really are, vehicles. I am all for freedom, but freedom comes with responsibility.

Have at it.
 
6zfshdb said:
Could be the death knell of the e-bike movement if this type of legislation spreads to other states.

The sad part is, the kids, who these laws are designed to protect, will just continue to ride them illegally.
Click to expand...
Honestly I have felt that e-bikes, at least in the Untied States, were doomed many years ago. Not least because so many people advocating and representing the community were terrible at doing that and probably did more harm than good.

I also thought that a lot of people here in this forum didn't realize, that as users of a new technology, they were unwitting representatives of that technology when they were out in the world riding their e-bikes. And their behavior, both good and bad, were observed by others and became part of the conversation whether they intended it or not.

Sometimes I think a lot of problems we have these days would be fixed if people just remembered what it meant to be a good citizen and be courteous and kind to others.
 
My question is what will happen to visitors from other states, where not only are ebikes not required to be registered or insured but there's no way to do so. Many RVers, including my wife and I, bring ebikes for local transportation after parking their camper at a campground. I would think NJ campground owners would be up in arms about this.

I suspect the new rules won't get much if any enforcement, at least in the more rural areas of the state where the campgrounds are located.
 
New Jersey has set themselves up to fail just by creating a radically different policy than every other state. Will bicycle dealers have to register the buyer of a bike with the DMV just like car dealers do? Will they need new computer systems to do that? Will bicycle manufacturers have to start putting VIN numbers on bicycles? Will insurance companies create new products to offer liability insurance on bicycles? All this just for one state. Or will ebike dealers and manufacturers just stop doing business in New Jersey and consumers stop buying and owning ebikes?

I sold my pickup truck last year because I wasn't driving it that much and didn't want to continue paying registration and insurance on it. If it wasn't for those expenses, I would have kept it around for those times when a truck comes in handy. I have three ebikes and have been thinking about a fourth one for riding on the fire roads in the mountains. That would change if I had to register all of them and buy insurance for them. I might keep just one.
 
Nope, nope.
Bikes are not vehicles and pedal assist bikes
stompandgo said:
I understand that regulation coming to this industry is disruptive, a pain in the ass, costly, and in some ways, unrealistic. I inquired about e-bike insurance in MA, and you can't get it. If the numbskull leading the charge on Beacon Hill enacts this, it's going to be a shyte show, or it's going to be ignored. Both are bad.

I think this law doesn't go far enough. It should include all bikes, analog and electric. There was a time when you had to register your analog bicycle and put a sticker or plate on it. Requiring registration, training, identification, and insurance levels the playing field for all road users. No longer can car drivers whine that bike and e-bike riders "don't pay any taxes or registration fees so they don't belong on the road". With a visible registration number, dangerous riders can at least be identified, and insurance protects me from them.

I see this as a sign of maturity and acceptance of bicycles in general. It takes them from what most people see as a toy and recognizes them as what they really are, vehicles. I am all for freedom, but freedom comes with responsibility.

Have at it.
Click to expand...
No, we can never have pedal cycles as vehicles, or pedal assist again.
They are trying to put reg plates on humans, then it will be mandatory insurance to walk the streets.
We have to dig a trench somewhere.

Zero accidents means zero freedom.
 
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