A new bill submitted to the Oregon Legislative Assembly seeks to ban Class 3 electric bikes from being legal on the state's bike lanes.
Class 3 electric bikes include those that can reach vehicle-assisted speeds of up to 28 mph (45 km/h), while Class 1 and 2 electric bikes can only reach 20 mph (32 km/h) under -motor assist.
Under Senate Bill 471, the proposed law would make it a felony for a rider to “operate a Class 3 electric bicycle on the side of a road, bike lane or bike path.” Under Oregon law, e-bikes can be legally operated on sidewalks unless prohibited by local law, but e-bikes are already prohibited from operating on sidewalks.
Therefore, the proposed law effectively prohibits electric bicycles capable of speeds exceeding 20 mph from being used on bicycle lanes. Instead, such bicycles will only be allowed to be used on public roads.
In addition, Section 2 of the bill seeks to remove important protections for cyclists using such 20+ mph electric bikes on bike lanes. Under current law, a motorist can be cited for failing to yield to a bicyclist in a bike lane when the driver crosses the bike lane, such as when crossing a driveway, parking lot, etc.
The proposed legislation would remove the requirement that drivers yield the right of way to cyclists on Class 3 bicycles on cycle lanes.
It should be noted that drivers cannot visually distinguish an e-Class 3 bike from other classes of e-bikes that are ridden by bike lanes because the difference is based on performance.
Electrek's Take
Of course, I support this law, as long as we can apply the concept equally. If it makes sense that Class 3 bikes (28 mph maximum) are capable of being ridden faster than most of the traffic flow on the bike lane and should therefore be banned from such bike lanes, then we might as well just ban cars. capable of highway speeds from city street use. “Can your car go faster than 40 mph? Sorry, you know the rules. Keep that thing off the city streets.”
Makes sense, right? Same concept. If it *can* go fast, it shouldn't be allowed to work there at all.
I mean, if a 60 lb e-bike that can go 8 mph faster than another e-bike is a serious threat to public health and safety, then oh lordy what are we to think of 5,000 lb cars that can easily exceed 120 mph with a two inch deviation just the big toe of a distracted driver? Surely we'll be taking those out of the cities any time now, right? Okay, guys? Boys…?
Okay, we're not serious now. This law is bad and the legislators who put it together should be put on a 21 mph bike and forced to spend a few minutes riding with their handlebars inches from 40+ mph cars to really understand what the real danger is. Then we hear them trying to tell us that it is the Class 3 e-bike that is the real danger.
I'm not trying to say that we should completely ignore the fact that sometimes people get hit by e-bikes. It happens. It has been fatal even on very rare occasions. But you know what happens always times? Cyclists and pedestrians are hit and killed by cars. So instead of wasting legal effort trying to push e-bikes back onto the roads, maybe we should spend some effort keeping car metal off the bodies of cyclists. Or invest in more bike lanes. Or increase enforcement of traffic violations for all road users. Or increase awareness education for drivers and passengers alike. There are many good answers, but none of them can be found in this bill.
via: KMTR
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