Get ready, New Yorkers. The new bill would extend the same vehicle license plate and registration requirements to bicycles in the largest US city. But despite the apparent security focus, some say the move is a misguided attempt to target marginalized communities.
The issue revolves around what is known as “Priscilla's law”, a bill designed by NYC Council Member Bob Holden and named after Priscilla Lake, a woman who was killed after being hit by an e-bike in Chinatown last year. It went up for debate Wednesday, but its likely passage is up in the air as New Yorkers debate the merits and pitfalls of the proposed law.
The bill would extend the vehicle registration and licensing requirements to electric bicycles. “Red light cameras work, and speed cameras work,” explained Holden. “Why not apply that to e-bikes? We have a public health problem. When people are walking on the streets, the most dangerous place to be is at the intersection.”
Holden seems to identify well how dangerous it is for pedestrians in NYC, who face fatal accidents walking in the city. However, his push for license plates on electric bikes and e-scooters seems to ignore the biggest obvious danger to pedestrians: cars.
While e-bikes were responsible for 47 fatal traffic accidents in NYC in the past five years, according to The New York Postcars killed 61 pedestrians in NYC in the first half of 2024 alone. And that number is only growing. More than 600 pedestrians were seriously injured by traffic in NYC in the first nine months of 2024.
With cars causing 10 times more deaths and more than 10 times more serious injuries to pedestrians, pointing out bicycles in this context is like standing in the middle of a rain storm and commenting on the high humidity. Perhaps one can make a greater impact by opening an umbrella first.
The unusual correction of a minor threat to pedestrians — and actually helping to replace the major threat of cars on the street — went unnoticed by many New Yorkers. “They are not chasing SUVs, which kill many people on the roads. Cyclists are easy. Stop giving people tickets all the time,” said Queens resident Chong Bretillon.
It is true that the same effort spent on traffic enforcement on e-bikes would have a far greater impact on pedestrian safety if instead it was spent on traffic enforcement on cars and trucks. With orders of magnitude more injuries and deaths caused by large vehicles, the unusual focus on safer, simpler modes of transportation like bicycles seems at best, wrong, and at worst, calculated.
Cyclists and e-bikes often comprise a high percentage of underserved communities, leaving some to argue that the restrictions are intended to target such communities. E-bikes are the transportation of choice for NYC delivery workers, most of whom are immigrants. A low-wage job already presents a hardship compared to the many high-wage workers who drive in the city each day. Now these people, along with e-bike riders from all walks of life, may have to deal with other limitations of this efficient, inexpensive form of transportation that has proven to be safe for all road users, not just those confined inside SUVs.
via: PIX11
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