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From: Frank Krygowski <frkrygow@sbcglobal.net>
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles.tech
Subject: Re: New York's Crackdown on Ebikes
Date: Mon, 26 May 2025 21:17:54 -0400
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On 5/26/2025 1:15 PM, NFN Smith wrote:
> Frank Krygowski wrote:
>> New York Times article on police cracking down on ebike traffic 
>> violations. Let's see if this will get people past the paywall:
>>
>> https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/24/nyregion/ebikes-scooters-cyclists- 
>> nyc.html?unlocked_article_code=1.KE8.voH2.AOcHv0jrnp79&smid=url-share
>>
>>
> 
> Ignoring the political drivel of the story...
> 
> The problem is with classifying ebikes as "bikes" (e.g. 2 wheels) rather 
> than accounting the dynamics of a powered vehicle.
> 
> When it comes to bicycles, it's too easy to consider a traditional bike 
> to be a "pedestrian", because it's slower than a motor vehicle, and is 
> not powered. However a lot of the time, traditional bikes and 
> pedestrians are incompatible sharing the same space. 

I agree. In bike advocacy discussions, I've heard very competent people 
point out that bikes and pedestrians mix badly. It can be OK with 
conscientious cyclists and sensible pedestrians, but both are often absent.

>  I've found that even 
> multi-use paths are frequently not a good place for serious riding, 
> because of the speed differential between a bicycle and a pedestrian. 

Yes. I've heard the term "pathlete" applied derisively to bicyclists 
doing speed work on multi-use paths.

> And there's even an in-between space for things like unpowered scooters 
> or roller blades that are faster than pedestrians but slower than bikes.
> 
> However, with ebikes (and for that matter, powered scooters) when you 
> add powered propulsion, then you're adding an extra measure of speed, 
> including that too many ebikes are capable of speeds in excess of what 
> is possible than for all but the fastest fitness riders.

And it's been pointed out that to ride at 20 mph, most people require 
years of training. They start slow and tend to make most of their 
mistakes at slow (less dangerous) speeds. But ebikes allow total novices 
to ride faster than most experts.

> I'm fully of the opinion that any bike should be regarded as a vehicle, 
> and generally, ridden on streets, where it's understood by both the 
> rider and motorists that the bike is subject to all the rules of the 
> road, both rights and responsibilities.  Yet at the same time, I 
> recognize there are combinations of road and bike (and rider) that are 
> incompatible with each other.  It's not unlike trying to drive a Ferrari 
> in a school zone, or taking an antique Model-T Ford out onto a freeway.
> 
> However, the issue with the ebikes is the question of speed, as well as 
> the understanding of the rules of the road.  With a motorcycle, it's 
> normally necessary to have licensing, both for the bike and the 
> operator. Somehow, it seems to have not occurred that just because the 
> propulsion system of an ebike is electrical rather than an internal 
> combustion engine that the ebike should not be subject to the same rules 
> as the motorcycle, rather than being regarded in the same light as an 
> unpowered bicycle, simply because it has two wheels.

All true. Regarding the "somehow" - the crazy legal situation arose, as 
I understand, from intense lobbying by bicycle industry lobbyists. They 
always need "the next big thing" to save their industry, and they 
realized that if ebikes needed licensing and were prohibited from bike 
lanes and paths, that they would sell far fewer of them.

And here we are.

-- 
- Frank Krygowski