...it might be illegal in Kentucky.
I have a regular bike that's 13 years old, but this area has terrain problems, and I have health problems. I'm buying an electric one that only costs a little more than $400. It looks just like a regular one.
There's a big problem, and that's legality. My scream team of legal beetles says Kentucky may be the only state where electric bikes require a special license to use. My driver's manual (which is older) says I'm pretty much in the clear, but there might be newer laws to oppress us. Here's the problem: I CANNOT comply with the newer laws. It would be impossible for me to do, because of my health and my overall circumstances. But I'm going to need an electric bike to get to a potential new job. (Remember, terrain.) So I'm sort of doomed to being an Allowed Cloud-violating outlaw.
Doesn't this make me cool?
New York's laws are even more restrictive. Electric bikes are illegal (to ride; buying one is still legal, not that they're particularly useful if you can't ride them) here, period. NYC lawmakers keep envisioning motorcycles zooming down sidewalks, so they've been opposed to legalizing them here.
My understanding is that New York's prohibition of them is a bureaucratic accident that no one in a position of power or influence has seen fit to seriously attempt to fix.
The general issue being that:
- the law states it is illegal to operate any motorized vehicle on a public roadway without it having valid plates and registration.
- an electric bike is a "motorized vehicle", so it needs to be registered and plated to be street legal.
- the DMV in New York does not have vehicle registration category that electric bikes fit in, so it is impossible for one to meet this requirement.
If some other jurisdiction does offer such a registration, however, it might in theory be legal to operate the vehicle in New York with it.
Also, I'm not certain how well this is really enforced. I do know that shops which build and sell "e-bikes" exist within New York City, and if they have enough law-breaking customers to remain in business it stands to reason that their customers are not getting in trouble for it at significant rates.
The issue has been brought before the legislature multiple times. NYC interests have defeated it each time.
I thought I saw on a website that everyone in New York just ignores this law, but that the NYPD selectively enforces it.
Quote from: vdeane on January 11, 2017, 10:05:42 PM
The issue has been brought before the legislature multiple times. NYC interests have defeated it each time.
Okay, so it's a bureaucratic accident that people
have attempted to fix, but been blocked from doing so by NIMBY politics.
Point is, no one ever explicitly wrote a law with the intent of banning electric bikes. They simply happen to not fit within a regulatory framework which predates their existence.
What specifically are the new laws you would be violating/that would prevent you from getting the special license?
I would guess that if you called the DMV they might be somewhat more helpful as to your options than we would be.
Quote from: Scott5114 on January 12, 2017, 10:21:10 PM
What specifically are the new laws you would be violating/that would prevent you from getting the special license?
It's a long story that started with a vendetta against me by local elected officials.
I'd have to spend more money than I have, and far more than the bike itself cost. (It's not because of any violation of the law on my part.)
Quote from: bandit957 on January 12, 2017, 11:03:54 PM
Quote from: Scott5114 on January 12, 2017, 10:21:10 PM
What specifically are the new laws you would be violating/that would prevent you from getting the special license?
It's a long story that started with a vendetta against me by local elected officials.
I'd have to spend more money than I have, and far more than the bike itself cost. (It's not because of any violation of the law on my part.)
I mean, as long as you can fit it within 25,000 characters, the board will let you post it...
Quote from: Scott5114 on January 12, 2017, 11:39:28 PM
I mean, as long as you can fit it within 25,000 characters, the board will let you post it...
My old driver's manual says you don't need a license for any bike in Kentucky. However, newer websites say electric bikes are classed as mopeds in Kentucky (the only state that's like this), and you need a regular driver's license for that. It used to be you only needed a moped license even for mopeds, but at some point they changed it so you need a regular license.
My new electric bike is NOT a moped. It looks exactly like a regular bike. But Kentucky thinks it's a moped.
The problem is that my driver's license lapsed a long time ago, because I was having personal problems at the time. It would cost me a lot to reinstate it, and because of a health issue, I'd no longer pass the driver's test. I have permanent nerve damage that causes numbness and would keep me from driving. I don't think bicycling is a problem. Driving is. I'm not even sure if my eyesight is even still good enough to pass the driver's test, even though I think it's good enough for driving. I do have eye damage from a drug that was prescribed when I was 11.
This is compounded by the attitudes of some public officials who have gone after people I know who have tried to help me with this.
The bike arrived a few days ago, though it does have some defective parts that need to be replaced. I have ridden it to nearby places though. So I've already broken the law with it.
Quote from: bandit957 on January 17, 2017, 02:03:48 PMSo I've already broken the law with it.
Sorry, I just
had to post this. :)
Over/under 3.5 days until "Getting bubble gum out of your electric bike's motor" thread?
Electric bikes are illegal in New York, just like automated vehicles. Yes, that's right, automated vehicles are illegal here. A few Manhattan lawmakers are concerned about how they'll react in traffic, keeping them illegal in the entire state.
Like electric bikes, that one is also a consequence of the verbiage of an unrelated law that NYC interests are fighting to keep the same because they like the effect (the law in question requires drivers to have one hand on the wheel at all times).
NC has a new law as well requiring mopeds to be licensed and insured just like any other motor vehicle. I do not believe, however, that the operator must have a drivers license with an motorcycle endorsement, at least not as of yet, anyway.
I am also unsure if this new law also covers electric bikes like the one that Bandit now owns, but I will check later to see.