NY Gov. Vetoes Popular Bill to Legalize E-Bikes

Gov. Cuomo has vetoed a bill that would have legalized a type of electric bike popular with much-persecuted delivery workers — a bill that passed both chambers in Albany earlier this year with barely a handful of opponents.

The veto follows months of advocacy urging the governor to sign the bill, which was sponsored by State Senator Jessica Ramos and Assembly Member Nily Rozic on behalf of thousands of delivery workers who are subject to frequent crackdowns by the NYPD because the throttle-controlled bikes they prefer are technically illegal under state law.

In a statement, Cuomo said legislators “inexplicably omitted several of the safety measures” included in his budget proposal for legalized e-bikes and scooters, such as mandatory helmets, lower speed limits and a law against using the vehicles if a rider was impaired by drugs or alcohol. Cuomo called throttle e-bikes “indistinguishable” from mopeds, and also brought up the death of 16-year-old Nelson Miranda Gomez, who was riding a Lime scooter when he was struck and killed by truck driver in Elizabeth, N.J. as proof that scooters are not safe.

Cuomo also wrote that “a recent study published in the American Journal of Otolaryngology concluded that head injuries have tripled in the past 10 years due to the use of these motorized vehicles, and of these injuries, two-thirds of the victims were not wearing helmets.” But Cuomo declined to point out that the study only looked at the use of e-scooters.

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