Electric Bikes - I want to start a petition in my area to legalize E bikes-how should i go about this?

Well, i dont have one...yet. before I was guna buy one, i called the police department and asked about the rules and laws on E-bikes. right away they said they were illegal. no acceptations what so ever. this made me mad cuz i had just purchased a LiFePO4 24v 20Ah battery for $455. if writing to the city dont work im guna make a petition and advertise the petition in the local news papers.

The police don't always know. Ask them for "chapter and verse" --that is, the citation of the specific provision of municipal, state, or Federal code that outlaws them. If they can't come up with one then they don't know what they are talking about.

That being said, if they see you riding they may ticket you, but unless they can come up with a specific law you have broken, then you can have the case thrown out of court.

Now, if they can, you have several options. If it is a city or county law, you can talk to your city councilor or county commissioner; if it is a state law, you can talk to your state legislator about it. You do know who these people are, don't you? If not, find out.

Oh, and if you do have to write to them, use proper spelling, capitalization, and punctuation. I know that HS English class was a long time ago, but those rules are there for a reason.

I think we should sticky this thread for other people who may be trying to do the same thing I am in the future.

MY understanding of canadian law is, and I'm sure that the USA is similar.....

The federal government has created a new classification for power assisted bikes so that they are no longer considered a motorized vehicle in the classic sense. The laws against unlicensable motorized vehicles do not apply to the power assisted bike anymore.

Sure, the local authorities still have the legal right in impose bans or restrictions but they have to proactively create new laws because

due to the federal classification, they can't just shove the power assisted bike into another classification to make it illegal.

OK, so here is a rough draft of what I am going to send to the city - please, i know there are some grammaical errors on it, that's why its not the final copy. Tell me what you guys think.



I, and many others in the community, want to lift the ban on Bicycles with electrical assist. As you may know, in the last few years gas has gone up in price to where there is a major economical benefit from electric bikes. With many citizens spending more of their income on filling their gas tanks, we see it fitting for a new, more affordable way of transportation. Scientist scramble to create more fuel efficient cars, other resort to public transportation. The answer we've all been looking for in this city is right under our noses.


Coincidentally, we have been found a way, but by law it so happens to be an "illegal" way of getting around. I ask you, does the city think it is fair to keep a very simple and environmentally friendly way of getting around restricted from even people who, sadly, go to work to get money for gas just so they can get to work? Is it not time the city realized the need for such vehicles as an electric bicycle to get around? Other cities have. They saw that gas was a problem and they then allowed E-bikes (electric bicycles) to help fix the problem. You see, the advantage to having an electric motor to help you move around is that one can travel distances of 20, 30, even 50 miles on a single charge of a battery for just penny's per mile and less harm to the environment.


One question that bothers me is that other cities have seen the need for bikes like this, why haven't we? Why is this very cheap and efficient way of getting around still illegal? Why are we not realizing the potential of these bikes and there ability for relief at the pump? Other places have wised up and lifted the ban on these bicycles because they are a simple solution to what we have been trying to archive - a safe, cheap what to get around. I ask you, what are the harm of letting these bikes become a legal way of getting around? What bad things does the city think they will do? What is preventing this type of vehicle from being used legally when clearly this now can be seen as a feasible way of getting around?


Now more than ever, there is a need for vehicles such as this and I think the city knows it, and if they didn't, they do now. We the people want to see a day where we no longer have to deal with traffic, when instead a ride on a bike through the park is an option. And where using a battery prevails over using a gasoline engine. Where there is a need for change, there will be a solution, and the people of this city don't want that solution to be banned any more. We see the road as the past and the bike trail as the future. Where the price at the pump is something we needn't care about any more. Where the city realized the solution and answered the cry of help that we called out for, and made this city a step ahead of the rest. We need this city to be that city.

I reccomend a more focused and simpler arguement, so that its harder for the other person to disagree with you....

something like "Have you taken every legal and reasonable step to ensure that your citizens have zero emissions alternatives like electric bicycles?" ....then state a positive and promoting veiw of electric bikes.

Criticizing or attacking someone makes it difficult for them to say yes and agree with you.

do you see what I'm trying to get at? its hard to explain in a such a short post.

indeed. although if you have read the previous posts you can see a revised letter was sent weeks ago. no going back now.

MY understanding of canadian law is, and I'm sure that the USA is similar.....

The federal government has created a new classification for power assisted bikes so that they are no longer considered a motorized vehicle in the classic sense. The laws against unlicensable motorized vehicles do not apply to the power assisted bike anymore.
In the US, motor vehicle laws did not apply to bicycles at all unless individual states chose to register them as motorized vehicles. Otherwise a motorized bicycle remains legally a bicycle.

------

Over at motoredbikes.com this has gone two different ways.

When I asked the DMV about motorized bicycle use in IL, I was told that since the technical definition of bicycle that IL uses does not prohibit motors and there's no specific law prohibiting motorized bicycles, then they're legal (as long as their power falls under the moped classification limit).

One other guy near Chicago who was stopped and told they weren't legal. He has since asked and was told that since there's no specific law saying they're legal, then they're prohibited. He was told by a state police officer in charge of MVC education that "the issue is currently being considered, and is not legal until they specifically say it is".

I cannot find any part of the motor vehicle code that addresses the status of "rights not assigned herein".

----

The first letter I asked was on a web-based mail form and I neglected to save it (I didn't think there was any debate at that time, and I would have had to do a screen shot to save it). My computer has been reformatted since then so it's unrecoverable now.

The second regular email I sent was answered by someone quoting the parts of the DMV that stated which vehicles had to be titled and registered, and of course those sections make no mention of bicycles, because there's no part that says bicycles ever have to be registered.

The parts about "motorized pedalcycles" are for mopeds, and do not apply to bicycles at all (since there's no provision for granting VIN#s and titles for bicycles).

At the very least there is more than a little ambiguity about the situation. I don't know really, but aren't worrying about it and riding anyway. I haven't been stopped yet, though I stick to rural roads most of the time. If I happen to kill anybody while riding my motorized bicycle I'll feel really bad about it, but then, I don't really think that'll happen.

Illinois sucks for numerous other reasons, and I plan on leaving anyway.
I would have assumed that motorized bikes were prohibited (particularly if CHICAGO city police think they're a bad idea) but the concept of attaching a motor to a bicycle doesn't seem to have crossed anyone's mind when they were making up the current DMV.
~

In the US, motor vehicle laws did not apply to bicycles at all unless individual states chose to register them as motorized vehicles. Otherwise a motorized bicycle remains legally a bicycle.

------

Over at motoredbikes.com this has gone two different ways.

When I asked the DMV about motorized bicycle use in IL, I was told that since the technical definition of bicycle that IL uses does not prohibit motors and there's no specific law prohibiting motorized bicycles, then they're legal (as long as their power falls under the moped classification limit).

One other guy near Chicago who was stopped and told they weren't legal. He has since asked and was told that since there's no specific law saying they're legal, then they're prohibited. He was told by a state police officer in charge of MVC education that "the issue is currently being considered, and is not legal until they specifically say it is".

I cannot find any part of the motor vehicle code that addresses the status of "rights not assigned herein".

----

The first letter I asked was on a web-based mail form and I neglected to save it (I didn't think there was any debate at that time, and I would have had to do a screen shot to save it). My computer has been reformatted since then so it's unrecoverable now.

The second regular email I sent was answered by someone quoting the parts of the DMV that stated which vehicles had to be titled and registered, and of course those sections make no mention of bicycles, because there's no part that says bicycles ever have to be registered.

The parts about "motorized pedalcycles" are for mopeds, and do not apply to bicycles at all (since there's no provision for granting VIN#s and titles for bicycles).

At the very least there is more than a little ambiguity about the situation. I don't know really, but aren't worrying about it and riding anyway. I haven't been stopped yet, though I stick to rural roads most of the time. If I happen to kill anybody while riding my motorized bicycle I'll feel really bad about it, but then, I don't really think that'll happen.

Illinois sucks for numerous other reasons, and I plan on leaving anyway.
I would have assumed that motorized bikes were prohibited (particularly if CHICAGO city police think they're a bad idea) but the concept of attaching a motor to a bicycle doesn't seem to have crossed anyone's mind when they were making up the current DMV.
~

weird. my uncle (cop in Chicago) said e bike and gas bikes are legal without license (he has a gas bike and rides it all the time)

I called the police department and they said it was illegal.

Police said the same in Misssissauga. But they're legal in Ontario and there's no municipal bylaw against eBikes.

Point is: Police are not lawyers. They're not aware of all the laws.

The idea that something is illegal until we say it isn't, flies in the face of history and reason and probably the US Constitution. Only a bureaucrat would say something so stupid. Is breathing illegal then? I don't see any laws allowing it. Eating and drinking in a car must be illegal since there is no law allowing it.
Just ride the ebike in a bikelike fashion, don't be obnoxious, don't go over 20 mph, don't use electric assist on bike paths and no one will know or care.

Here's a good site for some court cases on your "right to travel".

http://www.theforbiddenknowledge.com/hardtruth/driver_licensing.htm

Of course, the "State", doesn't like it's serfs getting all "uppity", so it's representatives will tell you why none this applies.