Make the road: The way forward for e-bikes, e-scooters and their riders
Safety before ubiquity on the roads. (THOMAS KIENZLE/AFP via Getty Images)
When
they’re done calling Gov. Cuomo a sellout who’s betrayed immigrants,
those fighting to legalize throttle-powered e-bikes and electric
scooters ought to read the governor’s sane veto message.
Then,
send revised legislation back to his desk so he can sign it, and the
newfangled micro-mobility devices can be allowed on city streets and
bike lanes without creating new dangers for themselves and others.
First:
Rationally distinguish throttle-powered e-bikes from mopeds, which
require licenses and registration, or admit that the former should need
permission to be road-ready, too.
Today, New York allows three classes of moped
on its streets. Even the least powerful type need licenses and plates.
The bill opening the floodgates to the types of e-bikes that zip to and
fro across New York City streets — two-wheeled, motor-powered bicycles
that can go up to 20 mph — would categorize them as unregulated
bicycles.
This
is a recipe for confusion. Picking a lane means requiring licensing and
registration of moped-like devices, lest the streets become a
free-for-all for all manner of unregistered motorcycles.
As for e-scooters, which we like, Cuomo is right that one recent study shows head injuries related to their use have tripled in the last decade. Another,
by the Centers for Disease Control, found 271 injuries in Austin, Tex.,
from Sept. 5 through Nov. 30, 2018, nearly half of which were to the
head. (Only 1 in 190 injured scooter riders there had a helmet on.)
Foes of a helmet requirement say that could all but doom dockless scooter-sharing programs here. Sorry, but safety comes first.
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