Pennsylvania Considers 3 Class Legislation

[BET]

In MD

Can't you just register it as a moped? Costs a whole $9. 25 mph speed limit. No insurance required.

Most states have moped laws that can be used for ebikes, and are often more permissive, provided you pay $10 or $20 and stick some tin on the back. Class 3 Laws seem mostly just a way for the US bike industry to sell motor vehicles to people without a drivers license, which seems short sighted...

In MD Mopeds require insurance. I do not think the insurance is that much - about $100 annually for me. One time registration. However in MD E bikes are bicycles, not motor vehicles, and e bike classes 1-3 are allowed on most roads. No insurance or registration for e bikes in my County.

 

[Asher]

In MD

In MD Mopeds require insurance. I do not think the insurance is that much - about $100 annually for me. One time registration. However in MD E bikes are bicycles, not motor vehicles, and e bike classes 1-3 are allowed on most roads. No insurance or registration for e bikes in my County.

Yeah requiring insurance definitely changes things and markedly increases ownership costs.

DC requires insurance for mopeds and doesn't have class 3 regs :/. So not ideal. Plenty of states, like CA and I believe PA, don't require registration. Motorized bicycles/mopeds (with operable pedals) aren't new so there's a lot of regulations already allowing them.

Still I'd be curious if anyone ever gets punished, whether for just riding or in the context of a crash.

 

[Asher]

When I told my friend, a retired judge, that we bought ebikes, he commented that the only adults he knew that rode ebikes had lost their license for DWIs .

You have something to tell us, Art?

 

[J.R.]

When I posted this thread I thought to myself this law will be a slow mover. With ebikes here already legal I initially thought this might not go far for awhile. We do move slow in PA. After a little more consideration and research I think this could be law sooner, rather than later.

Here's why I think this 3 Class legislation might be more important to the state than I initially thought. The one thing the 3 class law does very well is it defines ebikes better than the current law and that allows for targeted regulation. In February of 2019 the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources legalized Class 1 bikes for off road use. This year my county legalized Class 1 for off road use. The obvious question is, how can a department or county within the state restrict these off road venues to a class when the three classes don't exist in the state? The answer is the state and local governments have to define what it is they are calling a class 1 ebike every time they reference it. Local governments may need this law to properly regulate ebikes within their jurisdictions.

Ebike companies want the 3 classes, it allows them to sell higher speed class 3 commuter bikes and lower speed, more acceptable class 1 MTB for off road. People for Bikes wants the 3 Class law because the industry funds them. Now local governments and land managers will likely want it as well because it allows for targeted regulations. Finally bike dealers in the state want it. Right now they have to choose whether to sell bikes that aren't legal, or be at a disadvantage to neighboring state's dealers and direct internet sales.

I'm starting to see the writing on the wall.

 

[Lightning P38]

Can't you just register it as a moped? Costs a whole $9. 25 mph speed limit. No insurance required.

Most states have moped laws that can be used for ebikes, and are often more permissive, provided you pay $10 or $20 and stick some tin on the back. Class 3 Laws seem mostly just a way for the US bike industry to sell motor vehicles to people without a drivers license, which seems short sighted...

Penndot defines a moped as required to have an automatic transmission. I have not seen any e-assist bikes with an automatic transmission.

The PA regs seem to not include class 3 bikes in any of their definitions on their web site...so it seems they are unregulated by the state.

 

[tomjasz]

Nanny rules and why I'll stick with kitted bikes.

 

[Asher]

Penndot defines a moped as required to have an automatic transmission. I have not seen any e-assist bikes with an automatic transmission.

The PA regs seem to not include class 3 bikes in any of their definitions on their web site...so it seems they are unregulated by the state.

I'm not sure if the transmission requirement ever applies anywhere to electric vehicles, which don't have a transmission in the sense that ICEs do. Electric cars don't have transmissions. A single speed is also an automatic by default.

The Vanmoof S3 has automated shifting.

 

[Lightning P38]

I'm not sure if the transmission requirement ever applies anywhere to electric vehicles, which don't have a transmission in the sense that ICEs do. Electric cars don't have transmissions. A single speed is also an automatic by default.

The Vanmoof S3 has automated shifting.

The regs include both gas and electric powered mopeds. Upon rereading the regs, each is described in their own sections.

The automatic transmission only applies to the gas powered moped.

Only electric powered mopeds with a maximum speed of 25 mph are included. And they must have pedals.

So it appears class 3 electric bikes are not included in PA regulations.

 

[Asher]

The regs include both gas and electric powered mopeds. Upon rereading the regs, each is described in their own sections.

The automatic transmission only applies to the gas powered moped.

Only electric powered mopeds with a maximum speed of 25 mph are included. And they must have pedals.

So it appears class 3 electric bikes are not included in PA regulations.

If you change the top speed from 28 to 25, then moped = class 3. I did a survey here, few people actually travel at 26-28 mph.