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Government Power Transportation United States

Electric Bikes and Scooters Will Stay Illegal In New York Thanks To Governor Cuomo (theverge.com) 82

Posted by BeauHD from the accident-prone dept.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has vetoed a bill that would have made electric scooters and bikes legal in the state, citing the lack of a mandatory helmet requirement and other safety concerns. The veto means e-bikes and e-scooters will continue to remain technically illegal across the state, and will further delay any adoption of popular (if polarizing) shared mobility services like Lime or Bird. The Verge reports: The bill to legalize e-bikes and e-scooters was passed in June with overwhelming support, clearing the state Senate by a 56-6 margin and the state Assembly by a 137-4 margin. But state lawmakers reportedly waited to send the bill to Cuomo until this week out of concern that he would try to stand in the way of the proposal. Cuomo has voiced support for legalizing e-bikes and e-scooters in the past, but reportedly soured on the bill after he was criticized by one of its co-sponsors earlier this year.

While the bill would have broadly legalized both modes of transportation across the state, it was also designed to give cities control over e-bike and e-scooter sharing services. Cities would have been allowed to use permits as a tool to control the influx of these sharing companies, which would help prevent them from being inundated like some other cities around the world. It also would have given these local governments leverage to help negotiate their own regulations around shared e-scooters and e-bikes. Crucially, the bill would have helped take pressure off food delivery workers in New York City, many of whom use e-bikes to get around despite technically being illegal. Instead, those workers will continue to be subjected to $500 fines, confiscations, and occasional NYPD enforcement sweeps that at best feel like dog-and-pony shows and at worst unfairly target these workers.
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Electric Bikes and Scooters Will Stay Illegal In New York Thanks To Governor Cuomo More

Electric Bikes and Scooters Will Stay Illegal In New York Thanks To Governor Cuomo

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  • Fuck Cummo... (Score:2, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Fuck Cummo. The legislature passed this with an overwhelming majority. A 2/3 majority is needed to override a veto -- time for the state house to do so and tell Fredo where to shove it.
  • Uber can solve that! "Ride sharing"!

  • Wait, wtf? (Score:5, Funny)

    by locater16 ( 2326718 ) on Thursday December 26, 2019 @09:19PM (#59560556)
    Electric scooters and bikes are illegal New York? "Hahahaha wtf?" - The rest of the fucking world

    • Electric scooters and bikes are illegal New York? "Hahahaha wtf?" - The rest of the fucking world

      They are not illegal. What is illegal is riding them on public roads without a license, without registration, without a headlight, and without the rider wearing head and eye protection.

      People should be able to legally rent these in scooter rental agreement, such as a bike share or whatever, but every bike/scooter/whatever would have to be registered and equipped with the proper safety gear like any other vehicles on the road. Anyone that pilots these vehicles would have to have a valid license to drive. If the vehicle is capable of exceeding 40 MPH then it is legally a motorcycle and that means it falls under stricter rules on safety. One such rules on safety is the operator must have a motorcycle endorsement on their license.

      What's the problem here exactly? It sounds like people are breaking the law and then getting upset when they are caught. Maybe they can get some sympathy for having some disability, not making much money, or something similar. That still should not exempt them from following the law. Get the right kind of bike so it doesn't fall under the more expensive motorcycle designation, get it registered, keep your license current, and PUT ON A FUCKING HELMET YOU IDIOT!

      One of my cousins drove a motorcycle for years without a motorcycle endorsement. He was never fined, never had his bike taken, and wasn't ever even stopped by police. How can this be? HE WORE A HELMET! He also drove safely, kept his bike in good shape, and obeyed every traffic law. Also, his bike was registered and had a proper license plate. What he didn't have was a license to drive it, at least not at first. The license required going to a licensing station when they held the rides for those licenses, which were not often. He felt he couldn't wait and so instead just drove anyway.

      Driving a bike that has no registration, not obeying the traffic laws, and NOT WEARING A FUCKING HELMET, is just asking for heavy fines, confiscation of the bike, and all kings of trouble.

      I remember looking into how many people there are driving cars in the USA without a license. The answer is nobody knows, but it is likely in the millions. How do they get away with this? They obey the laws, wear a seat belt, register the vehicle, and keep the vehicle in working order. Violate any of that and you are asking for getting fined, possibly arrested, and potentially the vehicle confiscated and then sold to pay your fines.

      Electric scooters are not illegal in New York. What is illegal is riding them unsafely.

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by Rip!ey ( 599235 )
        Today would be a nice day to have some mod points.

      • While your opinion makes sense for electric scooters, it doesn't make sense for e-bikes.

        E-bikes are like regular bicycles but they have a motor. Legally they cannot exceed 15MPH on motor power alone. Riding them is no less "safe" than riding a bicycle. There's no reason to make them illegal to ride without registration/etc. when bicycles are legal.

        • While your opinion makes sense for electric scooters, it doesn't make sense for e-bikes.

          E-bikes are like regular bicycles but they have a motor.

          That makes them a moped, this means they are regulated like them.

          To register a moped means they have to have a governor to limit them to under 20 MPH (which you explain is already the case), and they must have a headlight. It appears that this is a problem for many people. It shouldn't be a problem, I was able to find places that will sell headlight kits for mopeds/motorcycles/e-bikes for about $15 in just a few seconds of searching the internet.

          Legally they cannot exceed 15MPH on motor power alone. Riding them is no less "safe" than riding a bicycle. There's no reason to make them illegal to ride without registration/etc. when bicycles are legal.

          Which is why they aren't illegal, they are mopeds and are re

          • That makes them a moped

            Mopeds don't drive unless you pedal? Or does the word "moped" mean something different in English than in my native tongue?

          • Thankfully, I live in a country with "socialized medicine". So that gives the gov't the right to tell you you must wear a helmet. However, I wouldn't oppose revising legislation to require you to pay your own medical costs incurred when you don't wear a helmet instead of requiring them.

      • They are not illegal. What is illegal is riding them on public roads without a license, without registration, without a headlight, and without the rider wearing head and eye protection.

        It is not possible to register them, so this is mere sophistry.

        • It is not possible to register them, so this is mere sophistry.

          It is possible to register them, the governor even said so. They can be registered as a moped.

          That's like saying I can't register my car because it has broken headlights. Well, I could register it, but I'd have to fix the headlights first. These people can register their e-bike as a moped (because that is what they are), but it has to have a working headlight like any other vehicles on the road. To ride them legally the rider must have a license to drive, and wear the proper personal protection equipmen

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by hnjjz ( 696917 )

            It is not possible to register them, so this is mere sophistry.

            It is possible to register them, the governor even said so. They can be registered as a moped.

            Then the governor is directly contradicting the NY DMV website. Motorized scooters and motor-assisted bicycles are both explicitly banned.

            https://dmv.ny.gov/registratio... [ny.gov]

      • every bike/scooter/whatever would have to be registered and equipped with the proper safety gear like any other vehicles on the road. Anyone that pilots these vehicles would have to have a valid license to drive.

        So to summarize your whole response, New York is full of assholes. We already knew that though, so I'm not sure where the original confusion lies. People stopping other people from doing things that are perfectly safe in moderation, is an asshole move, and since New York is full of the aforementi

      • Yup. I rode a big bike for decades without a civilian bike license - I had a military license and never bothered to do the civilian test. No police stops, no fines, never stopped by anyone.

      • Your cousin is fairly stupid too. If they were unlicensed, they were also uninsured. If somebody had pulled out in front of them and caused an accident, your cousin would have taken the blame irrespective of fault due to their lack of license, and with no insurance, would have been taken to the cleaners on top of a criminal prosecution. Safe riding canâ(TM)t avoid all incidents.

        • Your cousin is fairly stupid too.

          I agree. If he was caught without a license for his bike then he could have lost his license to drive his car. Your point of not having insurance also applies.

          Here's my point though, if you are going to drive without a license then at least don't advertise your unlawful behavior with illegal equipment. The cops are there to keep the roads safe, and some idiot driving some home brewed motorized abomination is not safe.

          Modifying a bike to have a motor assist the pedaling is legal and can be registered as a

      • Put down the gun bully and we'll talk. Stop telling people they have to wear helmets or you'll lock them in a rape cage.
  • they sound more oppressive than Soviet Russia, glad i dont live there, i can understand wanting to keep the sidewalks clear of those rental scooters, but what about private ownership, what if i wanted to own my own scooter?

    • Not illegal. (Re:sheesh, New York & NYC ) (Score:5, Insightful)

      by blindseer ( 891256 ) <blindseer@noSPAm.earthlink.net> on Thursday December 26, 2019 @10:53PM (#59560708)

      they sound more oppressive than Soviet Russia, glad i dont live there, i can understand wanting to keep the sidewalks clear of those rental scooters, but what about private ownership, what if i wanted to own my own scooter?

      If you want your own scooter then you can have one. The problem with the rental scooters is that the riders rarely wear helmets, and often ride without a proper license.

      The title is wrong, electric bikes are not illegal in New York. They can be operated legally on public roads but they have to be registered, have a headlight that comes on when moving, and unless licensed as a motorcycle (which is a different classification than "limited use" vehicles most scooters and e-bikes fall under) it must be incapable of traveling over 40 MPH. The rider must then wear head and eye protection while operating, obey all traffic laws, and hold a license to drive. Again, a motorcycle is a different legal category than these scooters and e-bikes, so they don't need a motorcycle endorsement but they still need a license of some type.

      If a company wants to rent scooters in New York then that can work too. The rental company would have to keep the scooters properly equipped and registered, and have some measure of assurance that the people renting them are properly licensed and wear the proper protective gear.

      What these laws wanted to do was have an exemption for wearing a helmet on these not-a-motorcycle two wheeled vehicles. In a nation that is trying to teach children to wear a helmet when riding a pedal bike then I can see why this change in the law was vetoed. They want people on pedal bikes and motorcycles to wear a helmet but not if they ride an e-bike. That does not make sense. This law should have been vetoed on that alone, but they had other unsafe measures in the law as well.

      • Agree. On the rare occasion that I engage my conservative friends (both of 'em) in discussion, they claim that gubbmint regulation always fails. I cite helmets and tobacco as two regulations that aren't failures. They disagree that these things should be regulated - but that's different.

  • The issue is that this petty politician is offended and acting out of spite. Pathetic.

  • Comment removed (Score:3)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Thursday December 26, 2019 @09:56PM (#59560614)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • Globally the deaths per rider, per km, per trip are way higher than cars and motoribikes... Many people have massive injuries in the first 15 minutes.... and that risk of "hey let me try" is very very hard to stop.....

    • It explains why e scooters are dangerous in the summary, helmets aren't required. Instead of banning e scooters, why not make helmets mandatory or finning those without helmets.

      • Why not just leave well enough alone? World's overpopulated anyway.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by schwit1 ( 797399 )

          Agreed, but many of these Darwin award contenders don't die and their extensive medical expenses are paid for by the taxpayer.

          If we could put them down like a lame horse I'm all for it.

          • If we didn't waste half a trillion a year sending our baby-killing military ruffians all over the world, we'd have money to spare to pay for healthcare.

      • It explains why e scooters are dangerous in the summary, helmets aren't required. Instead of banning e scooters, why not make helmets mandatory or finning those without helmets.

        Electric scooters are legal in NYC, they simply must be designed for on-road use, have a seat for the operator, have a headlamp, as well as other safety features. The standing style scooters are illegal to operate on public roads, and they should be illegal as they are not designed for going at speeds safe for traffic, have no headlamps or tail lights, among other safety issues. The law would have changed the requirement for having a helmet, which is something I could see as a problem.

        I was able to find m

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Shotgun ( 30919 )

      Thank you for protecting me from myself, mother.

  • Comment removed (Score:4, Interesting)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Thursday December 26, 2019 @10:41PM (#59560700)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion

    • "often ice covered"
      Hwut?
      Have you ever actually been to NYC?

    • Have you seen the sidewalks in California? As in most places, thety are full of cracks and frequently have PEOPLE on them (never mind the fact that it's illegal riding your scooter on them as well, I doubt you would care). And only an idiot would thing the "repercussion for failure" is a trip to urgent care. That's pretty much best case scenario. Since the vast majority of riders don't wear a helmet, the ICU with a skull fracture is more likely, with a high risk of permanent disablement or even death (there

    • Yes we have a new mode of transport that is convenient, cheap, low pollution and can make vastly more efficient use of roads than cars. It's definitely common sense to ban than because common sense says all must bow to the mighty car.

  • Let me guess, this individual is for Climate Change while working against it.

    • e-scooters are not good for the environment. Firstly there is the destruction of the planet in the hunt and excavation of the lithium. Secondly most of these products the batteries die in under 2 years and the companies that run these services throw out the entire device vs changing the battery.. creating so much waste. The cost in injuries of the users and 3rd parties is also high..

  • While this jerk deserves what he gets, the explosion in negative stories about him is driven by his political opponents who want him back out of the race as soon as possible.

    There. Now you are woke.

  • Hate to agree... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Slartibartfast ( 3395 ) * <ken@jot[ ]rg ['s.o' in gap]> on Friday December 27, 2019 @06:59AM (#59561308) Homepage Journal

    But as a former Segway employee, I do agree. I am familiar with far too many brain trauma cases due to lack of helmets. I totally think electric anything should be allowed, but for all that's holy, get helmets on users. Heck: my childhood buddy would likely still be alive had he been wearing one on his bike. And I have stories from Segway that have done nothing to make me consider changing my mind.

    • The friends I lost riding motorcycles WERE wearing helmets. I even lost a HS classmate who was struck by a bicycle. Shit happens, but you can tilt probabilities.
  • He banned plastic bags, set a 2% property tax cap, and eliminated bail for non-violent felonies. Some positive things, but then he announces publicly that he's doing such a great job that he's giving himself a 40% salary raise... from $179,000 to $250,000 a year! Higher pay than any other governor in American history, and some presidents too! Then he decides he wants New York to grant official drivers licenses to any ILLEGAL UNDOCUMENTED persons who snuck into the state! Cuomo also made it illegal to decla

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