Jun 10 2008
Bike legs on Bike roads
Federal law HR 727
Some years ago in a small airfield near Albany, representatives of a half-dozen different State agencies, from DMV, DOT etc. convened to test ride the first serious attempt to combine the virtues of lightweight human powered vehicles, bikes, with small battery-powered electric-assist motors, produced by the Ford Motor company and called, “Think” bikes. Much of what was supposed to be done decades ago was not done. If not now when?
This get-together was gave State officials test ride opportunities to experience alternative categories of vehicle and suggest new forms of administrative jurisdiction. After each had taken a short spin around the track they were polled, in turn, and all opined that their various agencies and departments should have no part in regulating what was essentially a bicycle, especially at the slow pace that these machines were capable of achieving.
A few years ago, officials from the Federal government also examined these devices and determined that they should fall under the jurisdiction of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, rather than any Motor Vehicle laws given their small scale, slow speed, and minimal impacts. This was made official in Federal law HR 727.
Many people regard the bicycle as one of mankind’s most beneficial inventions. For 100 years it gradually became more efficient, while changing minimally. About 20 years ago the bicycle went through a dramatic step with the introduction of durable and urban-friendly mountain bikes with their upright riding posture shock absorbers, and beefier tires that hardly ever went flat, rendering our not-perfect streets survivable and the journey much more comfortable.
It is time now for the bike to complete its leap into full utility. We need stability, weather protection, and multi-rider capacity, etc. But all this adds significant weight and has heretofore not been a practical possibility. With the introduction of lightweight lithium ion batteries and the addition of a helper-motor to common bicycles the next step in the evolution of this invaluable device has arrived. As the least negatively impactful and most economical element in our multi-faceted transportation world these steps are long overdue and an important hedge against $5 a gallon gasoline, rampant obesity and already strained family budgets.
The special importance of these developments to the transportation disadvantaged and disabled is also a factor here. Better and more widely used electric bicycles will inevitably lead to better wheelchairs too and a large proportion of the general population who won’t ride ordinary bikes out of fear that they may tire too quickly or find that nearby hill too steep to climb will finally be able to enjoy the healthy exercise and recreational pleasures available here.
We congratulate the State Senate for enabling us to move forward on this vital public issue at this time. By encouraging the further evolution of these vehicles here, perhaps New York can once again become a center of transportation development, as it was with the Erie Canal and the New York Central in times gone by, through the proliferation of new human-scale transport options.
It is gratifying that the New York State legislature is proposing at this time to bring our regulations into line with this Federal law, as 37 other states have already done. The need to expand our citizens’ access to more economical and healthier means of getting where they are going is critical at a time when our very survival much less future prosperity is threatened. This official recognition of the conclusions reached on that little airfield some years ago could not come at a better time.
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