NJ wants to license e-bikes. Enforce the rules we already have

New Jersey is at it again. One bad headline, one tragic incident, and boom, the answer is always the same.

Make a brand new law. Make 10 of them. Change categories, add fees, add licenses, add insurance. If it moves, regulate it. If it does not move, regulate it anyway.

This week, lawmakers rushed through a bill that would basically treat almost every e-bike in the state like a motor vehicle. That means licenses, registration, and insurance for things that many people use as simple pedal-assist bikes.

According to the article from Eric Scott at New Jersey 101.5, even the chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee admitted they are confused about what the right solution is, but they voted anyway.

Read More: How New Jersey Plans To Change Electric Bike Classifications

A Classic NJ Move: “Do Something,” Even If It Solves Nothing

Because “we have to do something.”

And that right there is the real problem. New Jersey loves “doing something” more than actually solving anything. E-bike crashes are up. Some of them have been heartbreaking. But instead of enforcing the laws we already have on the books or cracking down on illegal modifications and reckless riding, we go straight to overreach. We pile on new rules that will not stop dangerous riders but will definitely add more revenue for the state.

Meanwhile, the people depending on low-powered bikes to commute or get around hilly towns like Jersey City get lumped in with kids on electric dirt bikes doing 50 down a side street. That is nonsense. And it will make us one of the only states ditching the national three-class e-bike system.

Safety Experts Agree: Enforce the Laws We Already Have

Plenty of safety advocates keep saying the same thing. Enforce the rules we already have. Go after the illegal, souped-up machines. Educate parents. Stop selling high-speed electric dirt bikes to teenagers. Make vendors responsible. But somehow, the idea of enforcing existing law is never as exciting as inventing a new one.

New Jersey does not need more laws. New Jersey needs to use the ones we already wrote.