States Should Reform Fast E-Bike Regulations To Reduce Emissions

November 26, 20231 year ago Jennifer Sensiba 0 Comments

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Let’s face it: the weekend after thanksgiving can be kind of slow for news. Looking through press releases to see if there’s anything interesting left, I saw that Sur Ron, a manufacturer of electric dirtbikes, had some deals going on in England. Normally that wouldn’t be front page news, but then I thought about what such a bike might be like as a daily driver.

Why This Matters (A LOT)

The big thing holding many people back from owning an EV is price. When grocery prices are through the roof, it’s tough to find anything but a McJob, and everyone’s having to tighten their belts a little, it’s pretty “ivory tower” to tell people to just go buy an EV. Sure, there are some very affordable models (especially used), but there just aren’t enough to go around if everyone went out tomorrow to get one.

Automakers can’t say they weren’t warned. They are finding that $80-120k pickup trucks aren’t as in demand as they expected, but for years people at EV websites like this one have been telling them that they need to be offering reasonably good EVs for under $30k and most of them just never got around to it. But, GM has at least seen the light, and they’re trying to bring the Bolt back in a few years.

So, in the meantime, we’ve got to be looking at other EVs that basically everyone can afford.

Car Manufacturers Hate This Simple Trick

But, one thing you almost never see is an EV available for $5000. You might occasionally see an early LEAF with an utterly roasted battery pack, but that’s good for maybe 20 miles of range. Unlike a Jeep Wrangler 4xe, there’s no gas engine to keep you going (assuming you didn’t do what these crazy folks did).

But, what if I told you that there’s already a popular electric vehicle on sale today for $5,000 new? What if I told you that it had double the range of the busted LEAF, and that you can just swap in another battery pack to go another 40ish miles? Also, it’s fast and a lot of fun to drive, so many people are already buying them. They can go almost anywhere, just like a Jeep.

Obviously, we’re talking about electric dirtbikes like the Sur Ron, and it’s the cheapest Light Bee model. Speeds are limited to around 45-50 MPH, but for city driving, that’s enough speed. But, even faster ones are available both from Sur Ron and other brands, and with more range to boot.

I don’t think that even in 10 years automotive manufacturers will offer anything so useful at such a low price. By the time any used four wheel EV gets to this price point, it’s probably going to be on the edge of battery cell failures and other problems.

State Governments Also Don’t Like It

What’s keeping everyone from riding an electric dirtbike around town? It basically comes down to state governments.

You can buy an electric motorcycle, but you’re talking about spending quite a bit more. All of the federal and state hoops that a manufacturer has to go through, and all of the equipment requirements that have to be met end up making these as expensive as the cheapest used EVs.

Sure, most states allow for e-bikes, but these are only supposed to go 28 MPH maximum. With many roads having speed limits of 35 and drivers going 40-45, it’s not safe to ride away from the slower residential streets. And bike infrastructure? It’s a total mess in the United States. Most people aren’t willing to share the road with cars when there’s nothing but a stripe of white paint and a promise to not cross the line keeping you safe from distracted drivers.

Fast electric bikes that can more safely merge with normal traffic occupy a bit of a grey area in some states and aren’t legal at all for public roads at all in others. For places where they’re not legal, there are a lot of Karens who hate them because the Venn diagram between people willing to ride illegally and people willing to ride stupidly is pretty close to a circle.

Fixing The Problem

At present, there are a lot of registered and street legal fast e-bikes and electric dirtbikes out there. With the right added safety equipment (mirrors, lights, etc) and the ability to navigate the DMV’s arcane rules, some people have managed to get their bikes legal either as mopeds or as motorcycles. This usually means having a license plate, having a driver’s license (and maybe a motorcycle endorsement), and in some places, having insurance. This crowd, unlike the illegal riders, is less likely to do dumb stuff because they know there’s a much higher chance of being held accountable.

It’s also more common in motorcycle culture to be concerned about one’s own safety more. Helmets, leathers, an understanding of the dangers, and many other things lead to better safety. I don’t personally think society has any business forcing someone to take care of themselves as long as they’re not hurting others, but if you disagree with me on that, these facts are real and should satisfy you.

The remaining thing to do is come up with better regulations that make it easier for people to legally ride faster e-bikes without needing to study law and navigate the DMV minefield. But, how exactly to do that is definitely debatable.

The approach most likely to satisfy the Karens is to make an easier path to register fast e-bikes as motorcycles. If a state’s DMV had a simple checklist of safety gear to bolt onto a bike, the market would provide complete kits. If they then allowed people to provide an affidavit of ownership or a receipt to prove ownership, they could register them and provide a little plate for them. This would still require a motorcycle endorsement, but it would be easier than most states are now.

The other approach would be to create a new class of e-bikes. A class 4 e-bike, with a top speed of around 50 MPH, some required safety equipment, and a required driver’s license should be good enough if you’re not a Karen. Even without a plate, violators could be pulled over and they’d have to have at least some knowledge of the rules of the road, even if they don’t have a plate. This would exclude dumb stuff like a 13-year-old riding one of these on the streets.

Featured image provided by Sur Ron.