NYS eBike Law movement

[DougC]

”The Albany Bicycle Coalition, a nonprofit that promotes cycling in the Capital Region, released a statement slamming the veto, which it called "one of the most backward things that could be done in terms of wise use of energy, promoting physical activity, and reducing motor vehicle congestion."
"E-bikes promised a whole new wave of people leaving their cars for active transportation," the coalition said. "The veto flies in the face of common sense and certainly in the face of those who are ready and able to make a contribution to energy conservation. It further shows the governor to be completing lacking in sincerity in reducing fossil fuel waste. Once again, Gov. Cuomo leads in putting New York State at the rear of the pack.”

Thank you Dave for taking the time with the excellent response. The quote sums up what this looks and feels like. Backwards thinking and stupid political games.

I don't know much about NYS and Cuomo but I thought he was a more progressive. Historically I've leaned democrat but this kind of political stuff is why I'm registered unaffiliated.

 

[Saratoga Dave]

I hate to drag politics into this arena of ours, but there‘s no way around it on this one. Of course, I am not an authority on anything discussed in this thread, just an interested and somewhat involved party.

I’d much rather be watching David Berry running up the mileage for the end of the year and waiting to see what his first picture in the 2020 thread is going to be. I’ve been trying to get out for a ride for a week now, but the weather just is not cooperating.

 

[Alaskan]

As I understand it the law also dealt with scooters. In Seattle they litter the sidewalks and curbs. There are frequent pedestrian accidents, no helmets and theyl clog the bike lanes. Associating ebike with escooters is a big mistake IMO.

 

[Dewey]

Associating ebike with escooters is a big mistake IMO.

Once the Venture Capital money runs out they will be gone, but scooters were the impetus for my locality to revise its 40 year old motorized bicycle trail ban to permit ebikes and scooters on our trails from January 1, 2020. Scooters also mean more advocates for more/better bicycle lanes. Also our neighbor DC is debating adding scooters and ebikes to pedal cyclists, pedestrians, and other vulnerable road users who can benefit from a recent change of who can make legal claims against auto insurers in collisions. While I choose not to ride scooters there are benefits and protections we share in common.

 

[GypsyTreker]

Well, here we are on Christmas Eve and amazingly, I just got a notification that the eBike law has been sent to the Governor's desk, after languishing for months. Don't know if this is something they automatically do at the end of the year with the pending stuff or it has earned it's way into the playoffs, but I'll watch it like a hawk.

Cumo has vetoed the bill making eBikes against the law. Unbelievable! He claimed that because there were no helmet laws as his reason. Wonder who contributed to that veto?

 

[Mulezen]

Editorial about NYC and ebikes

Opinion: It's 2020. How Are Electric Bikes And Scooters Still Illegal In New York?

Cities are struggling with congestion and pollution. And somehow, a pedestrian-friendly technology that addresses both problems remains illegal.

www.buzzfeednews.com

 

[elliot friedman]

Earlier this month, I recall a forum member posted that he saw NYC Police stopping/ticketing all ebikes with/without throttles at a traffic stop. Hopefully. I'm wrong about that.

Yup, that was me. Didn't matter to the officers involved. They weren't only ticketing, they were confiscating anything with an obvious motor including pedal assist. I began explaining the classification differences to them to no avail. Ran upstairs to get some documented DiBlasio statements to show them, but they were gone when I returned. It was driving me crazy.