Earliest Days of Electric Bike Laws in USA
For a commercial success of a category of vehicles to occur, a set of appropriate laws and regulations is needed. In the USA, in the 90’s, those laws did not exist.
In the universe of electric powered micro mobility vehicles, invention has routinely outstripped law makers awareness and action. We have self balancing mono wheels, various configurations of three and two wheelers, push trailers, and more inventions every year.
When a vehicle that does not have any rules is brought to market, there is a risk that the vehicle will be inappropriate, dangerous, or simply not understood by the public. And not understood by law enforcement.
Law makers often regard themselves as too busy to learn about the new vehicles, and thus, adaptation of the law to these new ideas is slow.
When electric bicycles were introduced to the USA, starting about 1994, they were generally ignored by law enforcement, and law makers. If asked, the powers that be were likely to apply moped or gasoline assisted bicycle laws to ebikes. And every state seemed to have different laws.
Some early ebike makers offered kits to make their bikes conform to moped requirements, others simply ignored the legal environment.
In 1998, most of the existing handful of ebike importers / distributors in the USA agreed to form the Electric Cycle Association with the intention of pooling some money, hiring a lobbyist and initiating some Federal Law for ebikes.
That effort did create a model legislation, which was very different from the models being used in Japan and (due to Yamaha lobbying in EU) EU. Notably, a more powerful motor limit, and a higher speed limit.
A lobbyist was hired, a sponsor was found, a bill written…but nothing more was accomplished, partly due to lack of comprehension by law makers, and partly due to disappearing funds.
The original sponsor left office, and a new sponsor was sought. A Florida Congressman, Cliff Stearns, was found and HR 727 was introduced in early 2001. Again, not much attention was paid.
When the events of 911 occurred, the industry as a whole was convinced that Congress would be completely pre-occupied with national security issues. As was the case. HR 727 seemed to be on hold.
Late in 2002, an injection of cash from Wave Crest Laboratories into the lobbying effort caused a vote to occur on HR 727, which became law as Public Law 107-319 December of 2002.
Notable features of this law were that it assigned responsibility for Low Speed Electrically Assisted Bicycles to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, and defined them as having a top assisted speed of 20 MPH and a maximum motor power of 750 watts. And requiring a functional pedal or human powered pedal system.
This Federal Law continues to today, but it is modified in used by various state laws, usually following a popular model created and promoted by People for Bikes.
Today, all but 6 US States have adopted the PFB Model legislation with some minor variations, and the 3 class system is now widely used.
Consistent laws across most of the nation has been a major enabler for the growth of electric bikes. And needed to make the market safer for consumers and distributors.
Work continues on the legal and legislative fronts. Access to trails, fire safety, age limits, vehicle limits and more are being addressed.
Invention continues to occur. And soon we will need laws concerning advanced features and uses electric bikes that no one foresaw.
The use of electric bikes for transportation is what most of the world sees and how most of the world uses them. This is an important role in the USA.
But USA culture regards bicycles, any type, as sport, fitness, and recreation ahead of the utility of transportation. The arrival and functionality of eMTBs was very important to the USA market, with access to trails a necessary accompaniment.
So today, we have retirees riding electric bikes in their quiet and sometimes gated neighborhoods, younger people using them to get through dense urban traffic to the train or metro or office, food delivery workers making more money and providing better service due to the range and speed of ebikes….and in the words of a notable mountain bike innovator: “Adding 15 years to our mountain biking season of life.”
Edward Benjamin
Chairman, Light Electric Vehicle Association
Senior Managing Director, eCycleElectric Consultants
Fort Myers, FL March 2024
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