Someone gets killed by a car, so they restrict e-bikes.
Someone gets killed by a car, so they restrict e-bikes.
The Oregon Senate passed a bill updating laws around electric bicycles on Monday. It's named for a Bend teen killed in a collision while riding an e-bike last summer.
(Title shamelessly stolen from this comment in the crossposted !micromobility@lemmy.world thread.)
You're viewing a single thread.
The bill creates three classifications of electric bicycles. Class 1 ebikes only provide assistance when a rider is actively pedaling and stops its motor when the bike reaches 20 mph. Class 2 ebikes can be propelled without pedaling and top out at 20 mph. And Class 3 ebikes require pedaling, come with a speedometer and top out at 28 mph.
Levy initially proposed allowing anyone, regardless of age, to use a Class 1 electric bicycle and making it a traffic violation for a child younger than 16 to use a Class 2 or Class 3 ebike. But as passed by the House, the bill would ban ebikes for anyone younger than 16 who doesn’t have a driver’s license or permit. Anyone 16 or older can use any ebike.
Hmmm. I think high school is when there might be a real need for an Ebike so I'd go with that age.
What age can you get a driver's license? Does a learners license count?
A permit is a learner's license, and it looks like you can get them starting at 15 in Oregon, which is the case in most states.