"At its worst - like in last week's horrific fatal crash on Flushing Avenue - pedestrians and cyclists are injured or killed. Setting aside that car drivers cause virtually all the injuries and deaths on our streets, every time there is rare crash involving an illegal e-bike, naysayers capitalize by conflating them with safe, legal e-bikes to further an anti-bike agenda. And Mayor Adams has added to the confusion, launching a criminal crackdown on legal e-bikes that has ensnared all kinds of cyclists,"
"Take the killing of Terri Valenti on Oct. 6. The Queens resident had stepped off an MTA bus at a Brooklyn Navy Yard stop that just happens to be a shared space with the Flushing Avenue bike lane. The design is confusing for pedestrians and cyclists alike, but speed also played a factor: the e-bike rider who hit Valenti was using an illegal Movcan V30 - which is marketed on the company website as an "e-bike" with a maximum speed of 32 miles per hour."
Operating an electric bike that can exceed 25 miles per hour is illegal in the city. Online retailers continue selling these illegal high-speed vehicles and New Yorkers continue buying and riding them in bike lanes. High-speed rides and rare crashes have caused serious injuries and deaths, as in the fatal Flushing Avenue collision. Some critics conflate illegal high-speed vehicles with safe, legal e-bikes to push an anti-bike agenda. Mayor Adams initiated a criminal crackdown on e-bikes that has ensnared many cyclists and critics say it enables the NYPD to target the mostly immigrant delivery workforce. Many motorized vehicles are advertised as e-bikes but are legally classified as motorized scooters and remain illegal to buy or sell in the city.
Read at Streetsblog
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