[SustainableTompkins] Bicycle definition - New York

[George Frantz]

I went to the New york State website: 
http://public.leginfo.state.ny.us/menugetf.cgi?COMMONQUERY=LAWS   
 
and found the following definitions in the Vehicle and Traffic Law.  New York's definition for bicycle excludes motorized bikes.  
 
Further down though is a definition for "Limited use mortorcycle."  Is this the source of the Catch 22 - the state distinguishing bike with motors, then not providong for any mechanism to license or insure them?
 
George Frantz
 
VAT - Vehicle and Traffic 
Article 1 - Words and phrases defined. 

 
§ 102. Bicycle. Every two or three wheeled device upon which a person or persons may ride, propelled by human power through a belt, a chain or gears, with such wheels in a tandem or tricycle, except that it shall not include such a device having solid tires and intended for use only on a sidewalk by pre-teenage children.
 
§ 121-b. Limited use motorcycle. A limited use vehicle having only two or three wheels, with a seat or saddle for the operator. A limited use motorcycle having a maximum performance speed, of more than thirty miles per hour but not more than forty miles per hour shall be a class A limited use motorcycle. A limited use motorcycle having a maximum performance speed of more than twenty miles per hour but not more than thirty miles per hour, shall be a class B limited use motorcycle. A limited use motorcycle having a maximum performance speed of not more than twenty miles per hour shall be a class C limited use motorcycle. 
 
§ 123. Motorcycle. Every motor vehicle having a seat or saddle for the use of the rider and designed to travel on not more than three wheels in contact with the ground, but excluding a tractor. 
 
§ 159. Vehicle. Every device in, upon, or by which any person or property is or may be transported or drawn upon a highway, except devices moved by human power or used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks. 







 
On Thu, Jun 26, 2008 at 7:22 PM, Tim Joseph <tim at longhousecoop.org> wrote:







David,

I live at Longhouse Cooperative, right next to you, and had a similar experience.  I wanted to bike for years, but couldn't face the hills as a daily commute.  Then I got a bike with a motor and spent the next two years bike-commuting.  Mine is a small, 4 cycle, gas engine.  Not as green as electric, but I calculate I get about 100 miles per gallon and was only using the motor for about a quarter of the biking time.  The gas motor has a bit more power than any electric I've seen, which helps with the section of Elm St. right above where you probably turn.  It wasn't a real choice though, just what I happened to come across.  I too have spread the word and know of at least one person who bought an electric bike as a result.

However, you should know that these bikes are illegal on NY roads.  Anything with a motor must be licensed and insured.  But these bikes cannot be licensed or insured.  Catch 22.  The odds of you actually being ticketed are  pretty slim, but because of where I work, I can no longer bike-commute.  And even though the chances of someone stopping you are pretty low, the penalties for unlicensed, uninsured operation of a motor vehicle are pretty severe.  Sooner or later someone will get slammed.

We should be pushing for a change in the law that recognizes the reality of power boosted bicycles.  Some states and other countries define a category of motor assisted bicycles, with a limit on either power or speed, and define them as bicycles, not motor vehicles.  It's time for NY to do the same.

Tim