Folks gathered in Midtown, Manhattan, to advocate for e-bike security.
Picture by Andrew Superb
Dozens of New Yorkers rallied in Midtown on Wednesday to assist a state invoice that will regulate e-bikes whereas making drivers extra accountable after collisions.
Led by Queens Meeting Member Jenifer Rajkumar, the group of advocates, together with pedestrians and cyclists, gathered on third Avenue close to Gov. Kathy Hochul‘s office to throw their support behind Priscilla’s Legislation, which might require e-bikes to have license plates and be registered by the NYS Division of Motor Automobiles.
Members of the NYC E-Car Security Alliance (EVSA) additionally attended the rally in assist of the laws (A339).
A metropolis model of the invoice, sponsored by Metropolis Council Member Robert Holden of Queens, would require the e-vehicles to be registered by town’s Division of Transportation (DOT).
Rajkumar, a candidate for public advocate, blasted e-bike drivers for ignoring guidelines of the highway and sometimes narrowly lacking collisions with pedestrians.
“When we pass my game-changing bill, and every e-bike bears a license plate, we will usher in a new era free of e-bikes blasting through red lights, going opposite traffic, riding on the sidewalk, and narrowly avoiding pedestrians and cyclists at every turn,” she stated. “With the unwavering support of my grassroots partners in EVSA, this is the year we pass Priscilla’s Law and slam the brakes on reckless e-bikes. It is time to reclaim our streets and ensure a safer future for everyone.”
The invoice is called after Priscilla Loke, who died after being struck by an e-bike in Manhattan’s Chinatown whereas on her solution to work in 2023.
A row of e-bikes on thirty fourth Avenue on April 1, 2024.File Picture by Ben Brachfeld
Politicians and highway security advocates have lengthy stated that the impression of e-bikes has outpaced present state and metropolis laws. In reality, the variety of collision fatalities per e-bike is nineteen instances higher than the variety of collision fatalities per common bicycle, in line with a 15-page report by Meeting Member Alex Bores of Manhattan in 2023—although, as anticipated, the report notes that automobiles are the riskiest on a per-vehicle foundation.
Andrew Superb, a founding member of EVSA, attended the rally supporting the invoice. Different members in attendance included victims of e-bike collisions who suffered cranium fractures, damaged hips and different extreme accidents.
“Priscilla’s Law requires a license plate and registration for all e-bikes. As everybody sees, it’s completely lawless out there,” he stated. “There are no rules, no accountability.”
He additionally stated that many collisions involving e-bikes flip into hit-and-runs.
“The only way we’re going to get this under control is through accountability for the riders,” he stated.
Superb added that opposition to passing the legislation typically comes from lobbyists for bike app corporations.
“I think enough is enough,” he stated. “We’ve had it. The majority is speaking. And the majority must be heard. It’s time to put an end to this madness.”
New York News Metro contacted a number of app-based bike and supply corporations, together with Uber Eats, however didn’t obtain responses.
e-bike driving in NYC: a rising development
Holden stated politicians “need to wake up” and go Priscilla’s Legislation. He champions each town and state model of the invoice.
“We need the state DMV to issue license plates for e-bikes, which can only happen with the Assembly woman’s bill,” he stated. “When e-bike users know that there are consequences for their actions, they will think twice before ignoring any and all traffic laws, leaving a trail of injured and maimed pedestrians in their wake.”
In the meantime, again house in NYC, in line with DOT statistics, bikes, e-bikes, and mopeds are typically concerned in about 5% of accidents and 5% of fatalities in pedestrian encounters.
Moreover, town company experiences that e-bikes represented lower than 2% of the 477 complete pedestrian deaths from 2021 to 2024.
At the same time as the recognition of e-bikes and mopeds will increase, NYC recorded the fewest pedestrian deaths on document in 2023, exterior of the pandemic outlier in 2020, in line with the DOT.
DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez testified throughout a December Metropolis Council assembly that new know-how, like e-bikes and different micro-mobility autos, is altering how folks traverse town. Whereas the brand new modes make journey simpler for many individuals, he additionally mentioned the challenges that include them.
“Just as we have seen a troubling increase in aggressive drivers speeding, running red lights, impeding crosswalks, and blocking bike lanes and bus lanes, we have also seen a significant number of e-bike riders and micromobility users disobeying traffic laws,” Rodriguez stated. “Disobeying traffic laws can have deadly consequences and is unacceptable.”
To assist fight the challenges whereas maintaining e-mobility riders and pedestrians secure, the company launched Cost Secure, Experience Secure in 2023. This system promotes using authorized and authorized e-bikes whereas addressing hearth and avenue security.
The stays of the lithium-ion battery and e-bike linked to the Aug. 26 four-alarm hearth on Dean Avenue in Brooklyn.Picture by Lloyd Mitchell
Within the meantime, Rajkumar and the e-bike security advocates held an analogous rally in Albany through the afternoon of March 12.
