Last week, New Jersey passed the nation’s strictest law regulating e-bikes. On his way out the door before the swearing-in of Gov. Mikie Sherrill, outgoing New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed a bill into law requiring all e-bike riders to register their vehicles and hold a valid drivers’ license, with speedier Class 2 and 3 e-bikes requiring a vehicular insurance policy like a car or motorcycle.
Folks, this is a terrible idea.
Not only are e-bikes a viable, emerging solution for urban transportation and short trips, the insurance industry and regulatory agencies responsible for implementing this backwards policy aren’t prepared to do so. Insurance and registration requirements will almost certainly be difficult to meet even for those who want to comply, and those on the fence about trying an e-bike will likely be discouraged.
What’s more, people riding illegal “e-motos”—an unlawful class of high-speed, two-wheeled electric vehicles that are responsible for the majority of “e-bike” crashes and injuries—are already flouting the law, and this new regulation is unlikely to stop them. New Jersey has decided to punish compliant e-bike riders with bureaucratic headaches rather than addressing the real issues: Safety standards and consumer education.
What Is an E-Bike?
First off, there’s a lot of confusion around what exactly an “e-bike” is, so let’s define it. According to Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) standards currently used in 46 states, a Class 1 e-bike is pedal-assist only, meaning if you aren’t pedaling, the bicycle’s electric motor isn’t active. These top out at 20 mph—or roughly the speed a reasonable athlete on a road bike could achieve on level ground.
Class 2 and 3 e-bikes have “throttles” that allow their riders to accelerate them without pedaling harder. The main differentiator here is that Class 2 e-bikes also top out at 20 mph, while Class 3 bikes can go 28.
Adding confusion, there are illegal electric mopeds and “e-motos,” many of which can travel at speeds above 30 mph. Under federal law, these are not e-bikes. As Wired explained in a helpful guide to e-bike classes: “If the machine’s electric motor is capable of speeds in excess of 28 miles per hour, it is not an ebike, regardless of what state you’re in.” Any authorized e-bike retailer should know the difference, but a flood of direct-to-consumer imports has muddied the waters.
Why New Jersey’s Law Doesn’t Actually Work
Unlike cars and motorcycles, e-bikes don’t have a standard for universal Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs). They may have manufacturer serial numbers, but these vary in format and number of digits from brand to brand. This creates a bureaucratic nightmare when it comes to registration and insurance.
Imagine the DMV having to catalogue every e-bike brand out there and its particular serial number format. That is exactly what New Jersey’s e-bike law calls for.
Car (and motorcycle) insurance companies are set up to assess the risks and liabilities caused by two-plus-ton vehicles traveling at highway speeds. They’re not meant to set rates for 40-90-pound bicycles that travel at a maximum speed of 28 mph. How many insurers will invest in accurately assessing these dramatically lower risks, versus seeing this as an opportunity for profit? Holding these bikes to the same standards as a Ford F-150 is completely asinine.
Now, I’m not against all e-bike regulations. Helmet laws, for one, are a great idea. I’m not even against a minimum age of 16 or 18 to ride a Class 2 or 3 e-bike with a throttle. And we should absolutely enforce the laws against illegal e-motos already on the books. But this recent mandate adds nothing but confusion.
What’s The Impact?
“The law sets New Jersey up to become the most unfriendly state for bicycling in the country,” Dr. Ash Lovell, Vice President of Government Relations at bicyclist advocacy organization PeopleForBikes wrote in a statement.
“We are already cooperating on draft language for a new bill to address the issues created by this legislation, and redirect the focus of regulatory and safety efforts where they belong: on e-motos, the fast electric mopeds, motorcycles, and electric dirt bikes that are being marketed to kids in New Jersey and across the country. These are the devices that have been involved in recent fatal New Jersey crashes that lead to this bill. Unfortunately, too much of this relatively hasty legislative effort was misdirected at legal low-speed electric bicycles, which are now legally conflated with faster motor vehicles."
That’s exactly what this law is: Hasty and careless. By punishing legal e-bike riders rather than enforcing consumer standards already on the books, this legislation ensures that fewer people will try e-bikes in the most densely populated state in the country. With everyone in a car, road congestion and pollution will increase, along with the accompanying negative health outcomes.
“Making our roads safer for all users has been a key priority for my administration,” Gov. Murphy said in a cruel twist of irony after signing the bill into law.
So What Can We Do?
If you live in New Jersey, find and contact your State Representative or Senator. Contact Gov. Sherrill’s office and let her know you disagree with her predecessor’s last-minute decision.
If you don’t, but want to make sure laws like this aren’t enacted in your state, follow organizations like PeopleForBikes, StreetsBlog and the League of American Bicyclists who advocate for cyclists’ safety and rights on the road. Finally, organize with other e-bike riders in your area to make your voices heard.
E-bikes aren’t just a weird niche or the domain of food delivery. They’re the most popular and desirable form of electric vehicle, according to a Deloitte report, enabling families to navigate city life, school drop-off, and short commutes car-free. Lawmakers should embrace their potential to ease congestion and improve health outcomes, while educating consumers on standards and removing bad actors from the marketplace.
