Joe Perez
100 W
One thing has struck me as a bit odd over the past year or so that I've been browsing this form. Specifically, I've seen a low of discussion of the various laws concerning e-bike usage (eg, power limitation, speed limitation) in the specific context of people desiring to add "Cop Mode" switches (or similar) to their bikes, or to simply construct them to be fully legal outright, in the fear that they might be stopped by the police and required to demonstrate the legality of their vehicles. This seems to be a universal concern, both in the US where I live, and in the European nations and elsewhere.
Does this ever actually happen?
I ask seriously. Perhaps my perspective is biased through the lens of Southern California, but down here at least, I cannot imagine a law-enforcement officer taking the slightest bit of interest in my bike. Granted, we seem to have a much higher number of bicycle commuters here than in most US cities, but on the whole, bicyclists seem to be invisible to both LEOs and to the general public. Unless an officer happened to see me cruising down the freeway at 90 MPH on my bike, it's hard for me to envision a scenario in which they'd even bother to speak to me, much less take an interest in whether my bike is capable of operating a such-and-such a power level.
For that matter, I spend a fair amount of time working in Manhattan, and despite the fact that e-bikes seem to be totally prohibited by NY state law, I have never seen more e-bikers in one place. And they seem to follow the same set of rules as other bicyclists, which is to say that they completely ignore frivolous concepts such as one-way streets, red lights, pedestrian right-of-way, and so on. Doesn't seem to be a bother for them.
Or is this only a concern where e-bikes are operated in more "pedestrian" cities with high population densities and yet relatively little automotive traffic, in which law enforcement officers have little else to occupy their time? I can perhaps envision an e-biker in Bremen or Groningen drawing attention to themselves, simply by contrasting with the large indigenous population of non-electric bikes owing to their speed and visual distinctiveness.
Does this ever actually happen?
I ask seriously. Perhaps my perspective is biased through the lens of Southern California, but down here at least, I cannot imagine a law-enforcement officer taking the slightest bit of interest in my bike. Granted, we seem to have a much higher number of bicycle commuters here than in most US cities, but on the whole, bicyclists seem to be invisible to both LEOs and to the general public. Unless an officer happened to see me cruising down the freeway at 90 MPH on my bike, it's hard for me to envision a scenario in which they'd even bother to speak to me, much less take an interest in whether my bike is capable of operating a such-and-such a power level.
For that matter, I spend a fair amount of time working in Manhattan, and despite the fact that e-bikes seem to be totally prohibited by NY state law, I have never seen more e-bikers in one place. And they seem to follow the same set of rules as other bicyclists, which is to say that they completely ignore frivolous concepts such as one-way streets, red lights, pedestrian right-of-way, and so on. Doesn't seem to be a bother for them.
Or is this only a concern where e-bikes are operated in more "pedestrian" cities with high population densities and yet relatively little automotive traffic, in which law enforcement officers have little else to occupy their time? I can perhaps envision an e-biker in Bremen or Groningen drawing attention to themselves, simply by contrasting with the large indigenous population of non-electric bikes owing to their speed and visual distinctiveness.