New Jersey’s new e-bike law deemed discriminatory by immigrant advocates and older adults

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New Jersey enacted one of the most restrictive electric bike laws this year,  following a rash of e-bike accidents, including one that resulted in the death of a 13-year-old boy. The new law eliminates the three-tiered e-bike system, which categorized bikes based on their speed and motor size. It requires all e-bike users to get a driver’s license and register and insure their bikes by the beginning of the summer.

Concerns in immigrant communities

Amy Torres, executive director of the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice, called the new law discriminatory. She said many people in immigrant communities rely on e-bikes to get to work because they are affordable. She said at a time when there’s a nationwide crackdown by immigration enforcement agents, immigrant community members are fearful about approaching state licensing agencies.

“I think it’s ridiculous that we’re passing laws that are going to put immigrant and working-class communities in greater contact with police, at greater risk of racial profiling,” she said.

Mercer County resident Arturo, who did not want to give his last name, uses his lower-speed e-bike to get to work at a Trenton area restaurant.

“I can’t afford a car and insurance, it’s what I have for my transportation,” he said.  “I have to work to support my family, I have to go to my job.”

He said he has been using the e-bike for four years but is afraid to register it, and he does not want to go to the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission Agency to get a driver’s license.

“I am nervous about this, I don’t know what to do,” he said.

Torres said other states that require e-bike registration and documentation have reported an uptick in scammers and fraudsters offering fake documents, and that the same scenario may play out in the Garden State.

Different kinds of e-bikes

Some critics who opposed the law are calling on the Legislature to amend it. Several cycling enthusiasts argue that e-bikes with smaller motors do not pose the same danger as larger, faster ones.

Mike Gray, owner of Sourland Cycles in Hopewell, said the initial proposal was designed to improve the safety of large e-bikes, but that the final measure that was enacted goes way beyond that.

“It lumps all the bikes into one category, meaning the people that use them for commuting or recreation now have the same hurdles of insurance, registration and driver’s license as those who drive the high-speed bikes,” he said.

He said the new law disenfranchises a significant number of e-bike users.

“If people don’t have a driver’s license, there’s nothing in the law about how they’re going to register their e-bike,” he said. “And car insurance is an expensive hurdle, it’s going to create another burden when we’re trying to get more cars off the road.”

The law negatively impacts older cyclists

Steve Giocondo, an older Jersey resident who lives in Stockton, said he can understand the idea of regulating larger, more powerful e-bikes with throttles. Giocondo owns a smaller model that is pedal-assisted with no throttle. He said he uses the motor when he’s on a steep hill.

“I suppose I could get off my bike and push it up the hill, but to register it and ensure it? That doesn’t make sense,” he said. “I haven’t seen a dangerous incident, and I’ve never had a dangerous incident, so I don’t get it.”

Mary Schmidt, a retired public school teacher who lives in Hopewell Township, is in a similar predicament and said state officials have gone “far with the new law.” “The e-bike that I own is limited to 20 miles an hour and it’s pedal-assist,” she said. “I don’t think that a bike like this should require me to have extra insurance or a driver’s license.”

“Many customers are asking us, ‘What do I do? Do we have registration forms? Can you give me the certificate that I need?’ Nobody is ready for this,” Gray of  Sourland Cycles said. “We haven’t heard any information from our insurance company or the national bike dealer’s association; no one is sure what happens next.”

How much will e-bike insurance cost?

Gary La Spisa, senior vice president of the Insurance Council of New Jersey, said most companies are still formulating e-bike insurance policies, and depending on the type of bike, costs will vary. He suggested it could be several hundred dollars a year.

“There’s also a component of this law that places the injuries for low-speed e-bike users into the no-fault auto system, by declaring them to be pedestrians, similar to traditional bicycles,” he said. “That’s going to cause some increased costs on auto policies most likely, in about a year.”

Torres said this kind of e-bike law in other states has not improved safety, because it doesn’t get to the root of the issue. She said there’s a financial incentive for delivery drivers to go as quickly as possible.

“E-bike drivers can have their pay docked if they don’t follow instructions,” she said. “Sometimes that means driving dangerously, and that’s what needs to be addressed.”

Giocondo said he agrees the new law will not address safety issues.

“I hate to get into a conspiracy theory frame of mind, but is it [the new law] a way to generate income for the state? I don’t know,” he said. “I’m hoping that the New Jersey Legislature can tamp this down a bit, I don’t see the need for it.”