TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — The Florida Legislature is considering a bill to regulate electric bicycles that would require a license for faster electric bikes.
“If you want to go fast, you can get a motorcycle. This is a bicycle,” said Larry Shames, an electric bike rider from St. Petersburg.
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According to HB243, 28 miles per hour is the golden number they are trying to regulate and require licenses for.
“I don’t want to go 45 miles an hour,” Shames said. “Too many things can go wrong.”
“Doing nothing is not an option,” said bill sponsor Rep. Yvette Benarroch. “We are losing lives, and these are young children. It’s more about educating parents and children and bringing awareness that we have a problem.”
The proposed bill also adds age requirements and violations for anyone modifying an e-bike to reach higher speeds.
“I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing because I’ve seen people going well over 30 mph, especially on the Pinellas Trail,” said Jim Brogan, another e-bike rider from St. Petersburg. “They’re too fast.”
The cities of St. Petersburg and Clearwater have announced they are cracking down on traffic violations by e-bike users. St. Petersburg police announced that in three recent incidents, people died as a result of collisions caused while riding a bicycle.
“Especially when you have bike lanes, you see people weaving in and out of the roadway, which is really dangerous,” Mr Brogan said.
For now, e-bikes are legally treated just like traditional bicycles, providing an efficient way for people to get around without a license.
“It’s just one of those things where you take your life into your hands,” Brogan said. “If you were to do something stupid on the highway, a car would definitely beat an e-bike.”
We asked the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office for information about recent crashes involving e-bikes. Although they did not specify the records, the proposed bill would require law enforcement to specifically report accidents involving e-bikes and traditional bicycles.
