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California Wants to Create a Driver’s License for Electric Bikes (electrek.co)
submitted 3 years ago by to c/bicycles@lemmy.ca
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The move is in response to many young electric bike riders who often take to the streets without having tested for or received a typical driver’s license for a standard car. That means they are often ignorant of many traffic laws and safety information.

Assembly Bill 530, which will soon enter committee, would require both an online written test and a state-issued identification for riders who do not have a driver’s license. The bill would also ban riders under 12 years old from riding e-bikes.

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[–] 37 points 3 years ago (8 children)

I’m surprised there’s no pushback here about this. Cars are by far the most dangerous vehicles on the road, far more so that e-bikes. As such, anything that makes it harder for people to use alternatives is going to make our roads less safe.

Once we’ve solved the car problem, I would support this, but we’re comically far from that in California.

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  • [–] 16 points 3 years ago (6 children)

    theres a push for e-bike registration, insurance and liscensing where I live, but theres an important distinction between e-assist bicycles and this other type that you dont even pedal and can do 35-40kmph. e-assist wont need to be registered etc, where as these borderline electric motorcycles will

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  • [–] 16 points 3 years ago (5 children)

    I agree with that but the article made no such distinction. If it’s a blanket law I will oppose it. Most e-bikes aren’t really much more dangerous than ordinary bicycles.

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  • [–] 3 points 3 years ago (4 children)

    agreed- not to others anyway. I have a regular road bike and an e-assist and the sheer speed of the e-assist makes it waaaay scarier than my cannondale hybrid. I wear a helmet when I'm riding my e-bike and typically dont bother when I'm on the normal bicycle. the damage I could do by t-boning a car on either one is about the same (maybe a scratch of the paint and a dent in a panel)

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  • [–] 10 points 3 years ago (3 children)

    You should wear a helmet in both cases... Flipping over at 10mph can splatter your noggin too

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  • [–] 1 point 3 years ago (2 children)

    I know, I've just fallen off of my normal bike dozens of times and its, ya know, its not like brain splattering, its more like rolling on the wet pavement and being embarassed

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  • [–] 4 points 3 years ago (1 child)

    People are notoriously bad at statistics. Just because every spill from your regular bike hasn't risked your head so far doesn't mean the next one won't, too. The odds may be low, but there's no guarantee the next spill will be one where your head is okay.

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  • [–] 6 points 3 years ago

    Depends on what kind of bike is in question. There's a difference between pedal assisted ebikes and electric motorbikes. I feel like it's more than appropriate to require a licence and insurance for a bike that goes over 20mph and doesn't need pedaling.

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