Quote:
Originally Posted by Grant-53
Street rules for e-bikes are fairly uniform around the world...
|
Not so much.
The federal Consumer Product Safety Act defines a "low speed electric bicycle" as a two or three wheeled vehicle with fully operable pedals, a top speed when powered solely by the motor under 20 mph (32 km/h) and an electric motor that produces less than 750 W (1.01 hp).
According to the California Bicycle Coalition, Governor Jerry Brown has signed one of the United States' most progressive electric bicycle laws, which allows 28MPH-capable electric bikes in bike lanes and allows low-power, pedal-assist electric bikes to use bike paths except when prohibited by local law.Nov 6, 2015
In most European countries there is no lower age limit so anyone can legally ride a pedelec on public roads or where the public have access. Nearly all electric bicycles sold in the UK have 250W (max continuous rated) motors and conform to both EU regulations and UK EAPC law.
In Australia it is illegal to ride an electric bicycle on road or bike paths with a stated power output of more than 200w without a pedal assist system, or 250w with a pedal assist system. The latter is also required to only have a pedal assist, and limited to do 6km/h via a throttle or cruise control mechanism.
The one good thing about the US so far is that the government hasn't cracked down on e-bike use yet the way they did with mopeds. By that I mean requiring licensing and insurance. IIRC though, New York is still a pain for ebikes. I'm sure the time will come that enough of these high mileage, fun, no gas tax vehicles will be on the road that Big Brother will extend his sticky tax hand into our pockets. JJ