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Like many born and raised New Yorkers, Michelle never plans to get a driver’s license.
The Queens resident prefers public transportation and her e-bike, which has a throttle and gives her an extra boost up to 20 miles per hour.
Michelle and her friends go on a bike ride almost every weekend, picking a new city or borough to explore in the tri-state area where they shop, eat and hang out before returning home.
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Coming up on the list was riding across the George Washington Bridge’s new bike lane into Fort Lee — but since New Jersey’s new e-bike law went into effect July 19, they won’t be cycling to the Garden State anymore.
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“That’s it for Jersey,” Michelle, who didn’t want her last name published, told NorthJersey.com by phone. “We’re just not going to go to Montclair one day, we’re not going to go to the Palisades, because we can’t use our e-bikes.”
Visiting NJ for vacay? Don't forget to stop at MVC
New Jersey passed the strictest cycling law in the country earlier this year, requiring e-bike riders to have a license, register it with the state, and obtain insurance if the bike has a motor and can reach 28 mph or has a throttle.
Some applauded parts of the law, like the age restriction and helmet requirement, but some say it goes too far and will have a chilling effect on e-bike users in the state — and do little to prevent fatal crashes or serious injuries.
“E-bikes were a revolution — the level of distance you can cover versus a regular bike is tremendous,” Michelle said. “If I ever thought about moving to a town in New Jersey, which is a possibility, that’s not going to be in the cards now.”
Many New Jersey residents have voiced opposition to the law because of its impact on people with disabilities who ride e-bikes but can’t obtain a license and undocumented immigrants who might be fearful of being in a national database that Immigration and Customs Enforcement has access to.
New Jersey bike shop owners have customers trying to return e-bikes and are seeing a drop in sales.
But the law has significant implications for those outside of the state, too.
Much like New Jersey, there are many people in New York City and Philadelphia who don’t have driver’s licenses or access to a personal car, so they rely on bicycles to get around. People who live on the border of two states and bicycle do so for recreation, commuting to work, or providing delivery services to nearby residents.
There’s also the impact on tourists, who may have booked a vacation down the Shore and brought their e-bike.
They’ll now be required to spend a day of their vacation at New Jersey Motor Vehicles Commission registering their e-bike if their state doesn't require registration, obtaining an e-bike permit if they don’t have a license, and proving they have insurance for the bike.
Lawmakers mum on e-bike law
The roll-out of New Jersey’s new e-bike law — rushed to a vote and signature last winter despite fervent opposition — has been confusing, frustrating and inconsistent as the state tries to interpret and enforce the strictest e-bike legislation in the country.
On July 1, NorthJersey.com sent a series of questions to the offices of Nicholas Scutari and Craig Coughlin, leaders of the state Senate and Assembly chambers, respectively, and the state Motor Vehicle Commission because there was no language or guidance on its website about out-of-state e-bike riders and whether the new law applied to them.
Scutari and Coughlin’s offices did not provide answers to this question or any others posed by NorthJersey.com regarding clarity over how to interpret the law.
MVC updated its website by July 9 with a six-sentence addition that said, “If you’re bringing your own e-bike, just remember to register it with the Motor Vehicles Commission (MVC). For motorized bicycles, you’ll need to get insurance before registration. … Safe travels and enjoy your ride!”
New Jersey’s new law creates two classifications of e-bikes: low-speed e-bikes, which can go up to 20 miles per hour with pedal assistance from a motor; and motorized bicycles, which can go up to 28 miles per hour with pedal or throttle assistance.
Here are the Garden State’s additional rules to keep in mind:
- E-bike riders must be at least 15 and all e-bike riders must wear a helmet
- If your home state does not offer an option to register an e-bike, then you have to register it in New Jersey to legally ride it there, MVC said.
- E-bike riders must have a driver’s license from their home state or an e-bike license, which are now issued by New Jersey’s MVC after a permit process, including a knowledge test.
- Those with a suspended license or no license cannot legally ride an e-bike in New Jersey.
As of July 17, MVC had registered 94 e-bikes for out-of-state residents.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Out-of-state e-bike riders avoiding NJ because of new law
