Dumb, dumb law. NYC needs low-impact 2-wheel transportation as much as any other large city.
"We try to confiscate them as soon as we see them" is the sort of action that can give the law a bad name. It sounds too much like the abuse of asset forfeiture laws that's been in the news for the last few years. These laws need to be modernized, pronto. At the same time, bike riders need to obey the traffic laws, whether their bikes have motors or not. Here in Ohio, no registration is required for e-bikes under 750 Watts. The law does require either a driver's license or a "probationary motorized bicycle license" which you can get at age 14 by passing a test. Not that I'd ever condone breaking the law, but today there's no reason that an e-bike can't look exactly like an unpowered bike. A modern hub motor can be surprisingly inconspicuous. Lithium batteries and wiring can be packaged inside the frame tubes. In fact powered bikes can be so subtle that for several years now the Tour de France has been plagued by rumors of "doped bikes" or "mechanical doping." http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest-news/fresh-motorised-doping- claims-ryder-hesjedals-bike-moves-134745 http://v.gd/FjUNaD Anyone trying to ride electrically "under the radar" would need to use plenty of discretion, which I hope would prevent the kind of shenanigans that seem be be raising a few gripes in NYC. David Roden - Akron, Ohio, USA EVDL Administrator = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = EVDL Information: http://www.evdl.org/help/ = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Note: mail sent to "evpost" and "etpost" addresses will not reach me. To send a private message, please obtain my email address from the webpage http://www.evdl.org/help/ . = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
