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E-bike legislation
PETE GLADDEN
Pete’s World
Published: January 3, 2022
The last time I wrote about e-bikes was in a column that I penned back on April 19, 2021, and it ended with a rather pessimistic and ominous foreboding concerning the future cohabitation between real bikes/walkers/joggers/runners and e-bikes with respect to sharing the same recreational thoroughfares.
Since then this relationship has become even more polarizing, especially in light of the fact that European e-bike makers are now producing increasingly faster and more powerful “hyperbikes” capable of speeds in excess of 20 miles per hour.
As you’ve probably observed, the e-bike market had been growing pretty steadily pre-pandemic, but over the ensuing COVID years it’s been growing exponentially what with people seeking alternative modes of transportation and different ways to enjoy the outdoors.
Problem is that regulations haven’t been able to keep up with the infusion of all these new, more energetic categories of electric bicycles. And that’s why the lines have gradually become blurred between the e-bicycle and its higher-powered cousins, the moped and the motorcycle.
Now the federal government classifies e-bikes as having under 750 watts of power and top speeds of 20 miles per hour, but they’ve left the registration, insurance and regulatory issues for the states and their municipalities to haggle over.
And this is why there’s advocates on both sides of the e-bike issue who want to see clearer regulations.
So then I read about Massachusetts State House Representative Dylan A. Fernandes (D-Falmouth), who has just recently proposed a state law that would clarify how and where e-bikes can be ridden.
Fernandes is co-sponsoring a bill that would add some very specific rules around the use of e-bikes, in addition to allowing Massachusetts municipalities to further restrict them.
The issue came about predominantly because of the goings on in Falmouth on the Shining Sea Bikeway, where e-bike use has skyrocketed.
The Shining Sea Bikeway is a very popular paved 10.7-mile multi-use trail that runs from Falmouth to Woods Hole and then beyond to North Falmouth, winding along the Vineyard Sound shoreline.
Falmouth’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee has recently received numerous complaints about cyclists speeding on the bike path, traveling well over the 15-mph speed limit. Note though that these complaints concern both e-bikes and regular bicycles.
Nonetheless those complaints helped to initiate the proposed legislation which would institute three tiers of e-bikes based on the bike’s level of electric assistance and its top speed. What’s more the legislation also states that electric bikes be permitted on streets/bike paths/and routes open to bicycles with the stipulation that a municipality may prohibit the use of any of the three classes on its bike paths.
Class 1 e-bikes are equipped with a motor that provides assistance only when the rider is pedaling and stops providing assistance when the e-bike reaches at most 20 mph.
Class 2 have a throttle-activated motor, meaning they do not require pedaling and stop providing assistance when the e-bike reaches at most 20 mph.
Class 3 assist a rider only while pedaling, but stop helping at a maximum of 28 mph.
Helmets are required for Class 3 riders, and the bike must have a speedometer.
Such a bill the congressman says, would bring Massachusetts in line with the 42 other states and Washington D.C. in regulating electric bikes.
Forty-two states? That’s a lot, and then I immediately thought about the e-bike column I’d written back in April.
Ohio isn’t one of those state is it?
Well, it just so happens that in April of 2021 the 134th Ohio General Assembly’s H.B. 295 became effective, and it lays out specific regulations that apply to electric bikes - the same three-tiered system that Massachusetts is currently looking at.
Not only that but the Ohio law also requires e-bike makers to affix a label specifying the bike’s top assisted speed, motor wattage, and its class. And for those tinkerers who think they can “supe” up their bike to make it faster, they’re required to affix a new label to their jazzed up machine.
Despite my playing catch-up with this issue, it’s nice to see that Ohio’s one of those 42 states that isn’t, because the fireworks have only just begun.
Want to learn more about Ohio’s e-bike regulations?
Go to https://codes.ohio.gov/assets/laws/revised-code/authenticated/45/4511/4511.522/4-15-2021/4511.522-4-15-2021.pdf