Reach Out to Your Legislators!

TAKE ACTION to SAVE Low-Speed E-Bikes & STOP S4834/A6235

Right now there is a proposed bill requiring insurance, registration and a license to ride ANY e-bike in NJ, including low speed e-bikes that go under 20mph. This bill lumps all low speed e-bikes with higher speed devices under the term “motorized bicycles” and eliminates the current classifications for different types of e-bikes.

The bill (S4834/A6235) has been rapidly moving through the legislature, being rushed through committees, and could have a final vote any day, despite unanimous opposition from transportation advocacy organizations.

NJBWC and coalition partners have testified at multiple hearings in opposition to the current legislation and continue to track its progress through the statehouse.

This bill works against many of New Jersey’s own transportation goals:

• Since 2019, the law has required high-speed (>20mph) devices to be licensed, registered and insured, but this has gone totally unenforced. 

• Requiring insurance for lighter-weight, lower-speed devices (under 20mph) would create a huge, unnecessary barrier to compliance and use, and reduce the incentive to choose the safer mobility option. 

• This bill likely contradicts federal law 15 USC 2085 which defines electric bicycles as consumer products, not motor vehicles.

• It preempts more restrictive laws at the state level which would seek to “upgrade” low-speed ebikes into “motor vehicles” (motorized bicycles requiring a license to operate).

• Someone riding a low-speed e-bike into NJ from NYC or Philadelphia would not have the same requirements for insurance, registration and a license.

• Requiring registration and insurance will not meaningfully address roadway fatalities. By focusing on low-speed e-bikes, this bill distracts from the number-one source of over 500 fatalities and 3,000 serious-injury crashes annually in our state: motor vehicles.

• Increased costs and complicated procedures to operate low-speed devices will disproportionately impact overburdened communities. 

• This will limit mobility access for vulnerable populations, such as seniors, families transporting children without a car, undocumented residents (for whom registration may be virtually impossible), and people with disabilities that prevent them from driving.

• This will slow New Jersey’s progress towards net zero. Nearly half of New Jersey’s total carbon emissions come from transportation. We should be incentivizing all types of electric vehicles, not making them harder to get.

• This bill would reduce accessibility on shared-use trails and discourage tourism.

We urge you to write or call your legislators and tell them to hit the brakes on this bill.

Rather than creating barriers to this equitable, low cost mobility option, the state should instead focus its resources on: 

• Enforcing the law which already requires licensing, registration and insurance for faster, higher-powered electric devices; 

• Requiring vendors to register and clearly label and inform customers on safety and the laws governing low speed vs high speed devices

• Educating vendors, law enforcement, and parents on the difference between these devices; 

•  Implementing proven strategies for reducing fatal and serious injury crashes on our streets, such as infrastructure improvements for people walking, biking and taking public transit. 

We need your help to reach out and inform the legislature about the unintended consequences of this bill before it’s too late!!

Join us to Build Consensus on

Smart E-Bike Policy Solutions

SAFE Network Webinar Series:

Consensus on Model Policy for E-Bikes

Tuesday, December 16, 1-2pm

Join us at our upcoming webinar as we move this conversation forward with opportunities for discussion and shared learning about this pressing topic.

Hear from our panel of experts and share your thoughts to help us form consensus on what model policy for “E-bikes” should look like on

Tuesday, December 16, 1-2pm.

Panelists

• Matt Moore, General and Policy Counsel at PeopleForBikes
• Leigh Ann Von Hagen, Executive Director at Voorhees Transportation Center & Samuel Rosenthal, Research Project Coordinator at New Jersey Bike & Pedestrian Resource Center
• Corey Hannigan, Active Transportation Program Manager at Tri-State Transportation Campaign
• Karin Vanoppen, LDU NJ, Los Deliveristas Unidos

Moderator

Paul Mickiewicz, Program Manager, New Jersey Bike & Walk Coalition  

For more information about the SAFE Network and the Bicycle Education programs contact program manager, Paul Mickiewicz at paul.mick@njbwc.org.