License, registration, insurance: NJ could ease e-bike crackdown

🚲 A new NJ bill would remove licensing and registration requirements for qualifying low-speed e-bikes, while keeping tougher rules for faster models.

🚨 A 14-year-old girl suffered serious injuries in a South Jersey e-bike crash. State law currently prohibits riders younger than 15.

👮 Sen. Jon Bramnick wants State Police teams to help local departments enforce e-bike laws and address illegally modified bikes.

New Jersey’s tougher e-bike rules have been fully in effect for only a few months. Already, there is a push to rewrite them.

A new proposal would remove licensing and registration requirements for qualifying low-speed models, while preserving restrictions on faster bikes.

It comes as another teenager suffers serious injuries in South Jersey and a separate push seeks more help for police enforcing the rules already on the books.

Which NJ e-bikes would be exempt?

Sen. Raj Mukherji, D-Hudson, introduced S4830 on Oct. 15 to change how New Jersey defines and regulates low-speed electric bicycles.

A new NJ bill would remove licensing and registration requirements for qualifying low-speed e-bikes, while keeping tougher rules for faster models. (Getty images)

The proposal would cover qualifying Class 1 and Class 2 models with motors rated at 750 watts or less and a maximum speed of 20 mph when powered solely by the motor.

Those bikes would no longer require registration or an operator’s license. Qualifying Class 2 models would also be freed from insurance requirements. Licensing, registration and insurance provisions would remain for faster Class 3 bikes.

For riders, that distinction matters. Under current MVC guidance, low-speed pedal-assist bikes already do not require insurance, but they still require registration and a licensed operator.

The proposal must still advance through the Senate Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, pass both legislative chambers and receive Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s approval to become law.

Why change New Jersey’s e-bike law?

Signed during Gov. Phil Murphy’s final days in office, the law’s compliance requirements took full effect in July.

Supporters sought to address fatal crashes involving young riders. Critics argue the restrictions swept lower-speed bicycles into a system better suited to more powerful machines.

Tougher e-bike requirements and regulations would remain in effect for more powerful models. (Getty Images)

Bike advocates and shop owners told NJ.com that licensing and testing requirements created transportation barriers, including for people with disabilities who rely on throttle-equipped bikes.

Mukherji’s proposal would distinguish those slower devices from faster motorized bicycles.

The existing rules have produced hundreds of tickets. According to State Judiciary figures reported by NJ.com, 628 summonses were issued from July 19 through August, including 137 for unregistered bikes, 107 for helmet violations and 101 for insurance violations.

South Jersey crash seriously injures 14-year-old

In Hamilton Township, Atlantic County, a 14-year-old girl suffered serious injuries Friday, Oct. 16, in a Route 40 collision near Walmart in Mays Landing.

Police said she was riding east along the shoulder around 5:30 p.m. when she entered a traffic lane and was struck by a minivan.

She was flown to Atlantic City Medical Center’s City Division. The driver remained at the scene and had not been charged when the report was published. Police did not identify the bike’s type.

Current law prohibits e-bike riding by anyone younger than 15.

State Police help sought for e-bike enforcement

Sen. Jon Bramnick, R-Union, wants teams of six or seven State Police troopers to assist local departments.

Speaking with me on “Jersey Thing,” Bramnick said police need training and resources to enforce registration and insurance requirements and address bikes modified to exceed their intended speeds.

He said Attorney General Jennifer Davenport agreed further action deserved discussion.

However, the task force remains only a proposal and Davenport has not announced any action.

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