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In July of last year, a 14-year-old boy riding an e-bike was struck and killed by a driver in Somers Point, New Jersey. A few months later, a 22-year-old man died when his e-bike was hit by a van in Orange. Two days after that, a 13-year-old was killed in Scotch Plains, after his e-bike was hit by a landscaping truck.
Alarmed by these tragedies, state Sen. Nick Scutari introduced a measure to overhaul regulations for owning and operating an e-bike in the Garden State. The measure was quickly passed by the Legislature and signed into law by then-Gov. Phil Murphy at the beginning of this year.
The new e-bike law treats all electric bicycles, even low-speed ones, as regulated vehicles that require a license and registration. Previously, lower speed bikes were exempt. A low-speed e-bike, known as a pedal-assisted bicycle, has a motor that operates only while the rider is pedaling. The motor cuts off when the bike reaches 20 miles per hour. E-bikes with a throttle and a larger motor that can travel up to 28 miles per hour are now referred to as motorized bicycles.
The law requires low-speed bike riders aged 15 and 16 years old to get a special e-bike license from the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission. Riders 17 and older can satisfy the requirement with a regular driver’s license. Anyone riding a low-speed e-bike must display a registration sticker on the vehicle and wear a helmet.
Operators must have liability insurance for the larger-engined e-bikes now designated as motorized vehicles. Motorized e-bikes must display a registration sticker, and riders must wear a helmet.
The updated law was intended to address e-bike safety, but it was immediately criticized by riders, bicycle shops and advocacy groups for being too restrictive and confusing. Even before the law took effect, some older riders said they needed their low-speed e-bikes to go up steep hills, while others said they were unhappy about being forced to get a driver’s license to operate their e-bikes.
Some immigrant rights groups have called the new statute discriminatory. Amy Torres, executive director of the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice, told WHYY News in February that many people in immigrant communities rely on e-bikes to get to work because they are affordable. However, with the current crackdown on illegal immigration, even lawful residents are fearful about registering their bikes with a government agency.
The Electric Bike Report, an online publication that covers the e-bike industry, reports that e-bike sales in New Jersey have dropped between 20% and 90% at locations across the Garden State, because customers are concerned and confused about the new regulations. According to the publication, at least a dozen bike shops have shut down since the law took effect July 19.
Chrissie Polans, newsletter editor for the Central Jersey Bicycle Club, told WHYY News that some riders she knows have stopped using their e-bikes.
“I have friends who couldn’t afford it,” she said. “They don’t have that kind of disposable income.”
The cost of liability insurance for a motorized e-bike varies by company, but industry officials estimate that the required coverage could be as much as $200 a year.
“That can be a significant barrier for lower-income riders,” Matt Moore, policy council for PeopleForBikes told WHYY News. “Particularly for people who depend on e-bikes for transportation or delivery work.”
He said the law has had other negative consequences for e-bike users as well.
“If you don’t have a driver’s license for any number of reasons, now you can no longer operate an electric bicycle. That would include many folks with vision impairments or folks that just choose not to drive,” Moore said.
Polans said some owners of less familiar e-bike brands have had difficulty finding any insurance at all. “The law is very flawed,” she said. “This has just been done to placate, you know, people who were upset about people getting killed using e-bikes.”
