June 5, 201213 yr eddieo mentioned in a comment that ebikes were banned in NYC, so I've been reading recent articles. Appears there is an aggressive campaign to push for enforcement of the law. A bill by NYC council member Jessica Lappin that was introduced a on Feb 29th to double the fine for riding on an electric bike from $500 to $1000 passed on April 12th. Her issue is she stated her office has been receiving complaints of delivery bikes going 30mph claiming in a recent survey 72% of constituents said they'd "been hit or almost hit" by a delivery bike. She claims electric bikes converged on her from multiple directions. Sounds like a good cult horror film like Attack of the Killer Tomatoes or an ebike version of Christine. Both represent the Upper East Side and of course they had David Pollack from the Taxi Safety committee involved calling bikes a "menace to little children" and "a menace to society" claiming he was almost hit twice on his most recent walk outside. Now I couldn't imagine what kind of financial motives a taxi organization could have against alternative means of transportation. State Senator Liz Krueger used the infant card claiming babies were in danger when mothers are pushing carriages. You always know there's something fishy when politicians and their taxi organization uses the kid card together to argue how unsafe electric bikes are to kids. She is also pushing to fine both the restaurant and the driver. I knew they have been cracking down on biking infractions such as running red lights, riding on sidewalks, etc. with hefty fines. They even have police waiting at the end of parks to catch people merely riding across a sidewalk from the park to the road. In other words, you should get off your bike and walk it across the sidewalk to get to the road. Riding those few feet across a sidewalk will get you a ticket. I could see myself thinking oh I'll just leave this park and look both ways and ride across to get to the street. What's more concerning than the hefty fine of $1000 is that they can and do confiscate electric bikes. So I guess the lesson here is the more stealth your electric kit can be and the more you abide by the laws of the roads, the less likely you'll get your bike confiscated. It's another reason I like the idea of a bike that requires pedaling for the assistance, thus minimizing the electric bike riding look. Watch out for those Upper East Side baby strollers and grandmas folks! http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/04/nyregion/for-food-delivery-workers-speed-tips-and-fear-on-wheels.html?pagewanted=all New York City Clamps Down on Electric Bikes | ELECTRICBIKE.COM Edited June 5, 201213 yr by polyphasic
June 5, 201213 yr Amazing ban e-bikes, but can go in to a gun shop and buy a assault weapons ...or over bloated assault Hum-burgers...
June 5, 201213 yr Cars and trucks no problem....but you can see the attention illegal bikes can generate!
June 5, 201213 yr And not just New York, the state of Illinois has a total ban on e-bikes which is very much enforced. One big problem for e-bikes in the USA is the inconsistency of state laws, for example Connecticut and Idaho permit 30 mph assist, while Louisiana and Pennsylvania permit 25 mph assist. That means there's going to be kit readily available to meet that demand, which can just as easily find it's way into other areas. I was aware of the moves to enforce the ban in New York, which would be very bad news for Nycewheels, the e-bike dealer based there. I would have hoped in these environmentally concerned times they'd have removed the ban and at least used the Federal law on e-bikes, 750 watts and 20 mph assist limits.
June 5, 201213 yr Author ...or over bloated assault Hum-burgers... haha, that would never get banned though I will say the calorie counts on chain menus required by NYC law are pretty telling. 1474 calories for large fries at Five Guys. Bloomberg's latest ban proposal are sugary drinks above 16 ounces. Edited June 5, 201213 yr by polyphasic
June 5, 201213 yr 1474 calories for large fries at Five Guys. Ye gods, add some beverages and that's a whole day's food allowance for a woman or an elderly man! (1800 calories)
June 5, 201213 yr It kind-of makes you quite proud of our little nation...Oh yeah? We may be behind, but we are catching up: [ATTACH]3713.vB[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]3714.vB[/ATTACH]
June 5, 201213 yr Amazing ban e-bikes, but can go in to a gun shop and buy a assault weapons Now, to be fair, they're only single-shot assault rifles.
June 6, 201213 yr It would only take a few incidents/accidents to hit the news for a similar situation to arise here..most drivers look at cyclists as a hindrance at best, and resent that they use the roads for free. How dare they get in their way and hold them up.. Intolerance is growing by the week already with the amount of cyclists jumping red lights......
June 6, 201213 yr Cars and trucks no problem....but you can see the attention illegal bikes can generate! I think you're missing the point that in NY ALL ebikes are illegal, regardless of speed or power. Also, the ban isn't driven by safety concern - it's not a response to someone doing 25mph on the sidewalk - it's motivated by greed and protectionism - how dare someone use a FREE mode of transport in NY!
June 6, 201213 yr I think you're missing the point that in NY ALL ebikes are illegal, regardless of speed or power. Also, the ban isn't driven by safety concern - it's not a response to someone doing 25mph on the sidewalk - it's motivated by greed and protectionism - how dare someone use a FREE mode of transport in NY! It sounds very cynical but that how America seems to operates. May i suggest adding a couple machine guns built into the bikes and ur have a whole band of americans believing its their right to own one, and have the support of the gun lobby. Edited June 6, 201213 yr by jazper53
June 6, 201213 yr NYC have not banned e-bikes, they are already banned there. All they have done is double the fine and perhaps allow confiscation. As usual, ragbag politicians scrambling for votes have use over emotional scenarios to fool the people. Up until now, it seems that the NY Police were not that concerned, but after this, no doubt there will be a crack down. The problem always has been in the USA and China that people use e-bikes that have moped like power and therefore moped like crashes. Couple this with the desire of politicians to encourage cycling and you have a dangerous mix of unqualified drivers on mopeds. All that needs to be done is enforce/adopt EU law. The e-bike that we know and love is no more powerful than an ordinary bike. In fact, I reckon that my arthritic limbs coupled with my puny 200 watt motor do not equal Lance Armstrong. The 'banning' of throttles is a pity, although legislation does not exactly say that, merely that power must be obtained by turning the pedals. There will be grounds under the 'spirit' of UK Disability Discrimnation law to challenge this.
June 6, 201213 yr The 'banning' of throttles is a pity, although legislation does not exactly say that, merely that power must be obtained by turning the pedals. There will be grounds under the 'spirit' of UK Disability Discrimination law to challenge this. No chance, since e-bikes are not motor vehicles in law. They are merely bicycles with added assistance that are exempted from most motor vehicle regulations. If someone cannot pedal a normal bike, they will not be able to claim this discrimination for one with added assistance, since the additional facility could not apply to them.
June 6, 201213 yr Lappin Bill Would Make E-Bike Riding Twice as Pricey as Killing With a Car | Streetsblog New York City "We do know that in Lappin’s district, 29 pedestrians and six cyclists were killed by drivers between 1995 and 2009, while motorists injured 3,463 pedestrians and 974 cyclists during the same time span, according to DMV data compiled by Transportation Alternatives’ CrashStat. We know that $1000 rivals or exceeds the fines for many moving violations, including speeding and failure to yield. And we know that in the rare instance when punishment is administered at all, the prevailing penalty for a driver who fatally runs down a pedestrian is $500. So by all means, let’s get a handle on the e-bike nuisance. But let’s also get our priorities straight."
June 7, 201213 yr Excellent points n0ct0! Hopefully due to the, now seemingly ever so sensible, 25kph/250W rules in Europe we won't see so many injuries or bad press. In the US 30mph 1HP electric bikes are legal in most states. So couple all the kinetic energy created by a 30KG bike with a 100KG rider traveling at 30mph and then try and stop the bike on cheap V brakes and race tyres! An accident waiting to happen. I for one am not surprised.
June 7, 201213 yr hefty fine of $1000 is that they can and do confiscate electric bikes. I'd go along with that if applied across the board.....motorist's cars confiscated for... ... speeding...jumping lights...driving whilst holding a mobile phone...killing children...I could go on
June 7, 201213 yr I'd go along with that if applied across the board.....motorist's cars confiscated for... ... speeding...jumping lights...driving whilst holding a mobile phone...killing children...I could go on Talking to a guy the other day and he had been cut up by a car driver, he showed the footage from his head cam to the police. The car driver has been given some sort of ASBO and will have his car confiscated if he does anything wrong again....what a result
June 8, 201213 yr Author Talking to a guy the other day and he had been cut up by a car driver, he showed the footage from his head cam to the police. The car driver has been given some sort of ASBO and will have his car confiscated if he does anything wrong again....what a result That's a big fear of mine. One thing I'd like to have is a rear camera that I can view cars coming up behind me. I got my Brompton on Tuesday. I drove it from 13th street to 42nd street. This is my first bike ride (other than testing store bikes) in NYC. It's absolutely amazing how many cyclist do not follow the rules of the road. Tons driving the wrong way and running lights galore, so I guess I'm going to be a supporter of the increased efforts to support the rules of the road. At one point there were more bicyclist going the wrong way on a oneway street than there were going the correct direction. Rather disappointing I must say. I can see why we don't have much of a voice. We lose what little we have by not following the rules of the road. I'm not a supporter of making all electric bikes illegal in the state of NY. I could live with European laws regarding electric bikes in the city, especially in a condensed city like NY (those cities that were developed prior to the automobile era). I'm not sure towns should be subject though to those same laws. I would think somewhat higher speeds in more rural areas could be safer for all involved. Also, the ban isn't driven by safety concern - it's not a response to someone doing 25mph on the sidewalk - it's motivated by greed and protectionism - how dare someone use a FREE mode of transport in NY! There are a lot of bikes that are clearly electric riding around the streets of NY still, so I guess enforcement of these new laws aren't in full effect. I wonder whether it's just that they're easier targets by those that have built-up anger of the perceived invasion of bicycling. The city has evolved to provide more space to bikers and less space to cars at a rather progressive pace over the past few years. A. There are a lot of electric delivery bikes. B. They're the poorest of NY (delivery people aren't wealthy thus easier target, poor people don't have many rights in an oligarchy). C. They stand out because they're zipping beside you without pedaling while you're riding in the taxi. D. NYC roads have changed drastically just in the past few years, new bike lanes all over so less parking and lanes for cars. Maybe it's a backlash from that. E. Citibank is paying to put in the largest bike sharing program in the world, so there are tons of sidewalks that are soon to be crowded with a rack with a dozen Citibank logo bikes. New Yorkers that don't bike aren't pleased to see their sidewalks and parking spots get taken over by bike sharing facilities. Personally, I see it as progress, but I wonder if it's more than just free riding they distain, is it the continual limitation of shared space through allowing more bike access? I can see why taxi drivers hate bikes on multiple levels, but the target for electric bikes still has me puzzled. Biking is free and yet we're expanding biking in the city at a faster rate than most large cities, so why target electric bikes? I think the protectionism was just political persuasion rhetoric. Anytime someone resorts to the kid card, you know they're likely speaking to emotion rather than from statistical data. Edited June 8, 201213 yr by polyphasic
June 8, 201213 yr Talking to a guy the other day and he had been cut up by a car driver, he showed the footage from his head cam to the police. The car driver has been given some sort of ASBO and will have his car confiscated if he does anything wrong again....what a result Got my contour roam head cam now..waiting for weather to improve and I am out car baiting! Riding as badly as possible to capture the enemy on camera....if you cant beat them join them! i can ride as badly as most drive if I want to...
June 8, 201213 yr There have been crack downs on illegal ebikes in London already, mainly the rickshaws that were overweight. I wonder if the Taxi drivers were the ones that made all the complaints about them? I'm sure the delivery pedelecs are also overweight but nobody seems worried about them. To be a voice of reason the delivery trikes seem much better built.
June 8, 201213 yr Author Got my contour roam head cam now Oh that looks like a nice cam. I'm hoping there is a decent product to mount the iphone to the bike, then use the iphone to record from the rear. Something like this but using the phone to record and use as a monitor. The idea of just trying to limit the number of gadgets. The Bicycle Rearview Camera - Hammacher Schlemmer Edited June 8, 201213 yr by polyphasic
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