Electrically Assisted Vehicles

A.588 Gantt; proposes to accommodate and regulate electrically assisted bicycles. NYBC proposed to include devises such as the “Segway” that travel at bicycle speeds under this bill.

An alternative Bill S 00579 sponsored by Sen Johnson (same as A 2744) provides that “electric personal assistive mobility device shall not be deemed to be "motor vehicles" subject to the provisions of the vehicle and traffic law, and operators thereof shall be deemed to be pedestrians; an "electric personal assistive mobility device" is a self-balancing, two-wheeled device designed to transport one person, having an electric motor with an out put of not more than 750 watts and which has a top speed of not more than 20 miles per hour”.

We find the concept of a 20 MPH vehicle on sidewalks to be alarming! Our recommendation to legislators is that pedestrian speeds (i.e. 3 –5 MPH) are a better fit for sidewalks, accommodating the handicapped and those performing specific services such as mail delivery. In addition to making sidewalks safer for pedestrians, additional bike-speed vehicles in the “bike space” on the road should generate better attention from drivers and help further justify DOTs (NYSDOT Comments!) maintenance of road shoulders and designated bike lanes.

NYBC received many comments regarding these Bills and how they would apply to biketrails and to engineering design standards. These issues will be discussed with the legislators and their staff by NYBC volunteers.

by Ivan Vamos

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