{"id":6839,"date":"2026-08-18T10:38:34","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T10:38:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=6839"},"modified":"2026-08-18T10:38:34","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T10:38:34","slug":"nycs-deadly-e-bike-crisis-is-getting-worse-and-only-albany-can-tackle-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=6839","title":{"rendered":"NYC’s deadly e-bike crisis is getting worse \u2014 and only Albany can tackle it"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Getting hit by an e-bike has become such a recognizable hazard of New York City life that \u201cSaturday Night Live\u201d has repeatedly spoofed it as Gotham\u2019s hottest \u201cnew way to die.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Wife of hedge fund mogul barred from testifying in record-breaking NJ divorce case after hacking his email, stealing his mail: judge<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a menace on the streets of our city,\u201d Scarlett Johansen warbled in a musical skit last year. \u201cSuddenly e-bikes \u2014 they\u2019re trying to kill me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s no laughing matter for our pedestrians, who have adapted by developing a new reflex at every intersection: Look left; look right; then look again \u2014 for the e-bike coming at you out of nowhere.<\/p>\n

The city has seen nine fatal e-bike collisions this year \u2014 and counting.<\/p>\n

I introduced Priscilla\u2019s Law in Albany to tackle this deadly danger in 2024.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a straightforward concept: E-bikes and e-scooters operating in New York City should be registered with the state Department of Motor Vehicles, and should carry visible license plates.<\/p>\n

The law is named for Priscilla Loke, a beloved 69-year-old teacher and Chinatown resident who was struck by an e-bike in September 2023 and died from the severe head trauma she sustained.<\/p>\n

Her hit-and-run death put a human face on a fear New Yorkers were already feeling.<\/p>\n

We license and register motor vehicles for good reason: If a driver hits you and leaves the scene, the license plate gives us a way to identify the offender\u2019s vehicle.<\/p>\n

But e-bikes are unregistered, making identification practically impossible.<\/p>\n

According to Janet Schroeder of the E-Vehicle Safety Alliance, riders flee the scene in 90% of e-bike crashes \u2014 so no police report can be filed.<\/p>\n

More than two years have passed since I introduced Priscilla\u2019s Law, yet Albany has taken no final action.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, the public outcry has only grown.<\/p>\n

At town halls across the city \u2014 from my South Queens district to the Upper West Side to Brownsville \u2014 I\u2019ve seen widespread support for Priscilla\u2019s Law from everyday New Yorkers, making this issue impossible to ignore.<\/p>\n

This year, we finally made a breakthrough: The Legislature held a public hearing devoted to e-bikes and e-scooters.<\/p>\n

Representatives of the Department of Motor Vehicles testified that they stand ready to implement whatever regulatory framework the Legislature may adopt.<\/p>\n

That means Priscilla\u2019s Law is within reach.<\/p>\n

Legislative lawyers and lawmakers have spent years studying the issue, and the DMV has the regulatory expertise to implement it.<\/p>\n

Together, they can resolve the remaining details and get this done.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s only one obstacle: political will.<\/p>\n

As City Council Speaker Julie Menin has pointed out, City Hall can\u2019t substitute for Albany here.<\/p>\n

Read more Tish James snoozes as NYC charity burns tens of millions<\/a><\/p>\n

She has rightly called for the state to handle e-bike licensure and registration, and I agree: This is fundamentally a state responsibility.<\/p>\n

The state already has the DMV, the agency with the infrastructure, expertise and law-enforcement framework to register vehicles, issue identifying information and maintain records.<\/p>\n

Rather than build a parallel city-only system from scratch, Albany should put the DMV\u2019s existing machinery to work \u2014 and provide the enforcement tool New York City needs.<\/p>\n

New York would hardly be alone here.<\/p>\n

Just this year, New Jersey enacted a law requiring e-bikes to be registered through its Motor Vehicle Commission.<\/p>\n

Registration and identification requirements for certain classes of electric bikes are already used in Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands and Denmark, while major Chinese cities have adopted registration and license-plate requirements for them.<\/p>\n

Those who oppose Priscilla\u2019s Law often claim that regulation will hurt delivery workers, many of whom are immigrants struggling to make ends meet.<\/p>\n

My immigrant-majority district is home to many delivery workers, and I believe the opposite: Priscilla\u2019s Law will make the roads safer for everyone, e-bike operators included.<\/p>\n

License plates will allow us to address dangerous riding through ordinary traffic enforcement and tickets \u2014 rather than through criminal penalties that could jeopardize a worker\u2019s immigration status.<\/p>\n

Another objection relates to the measure\u2019s cost: DoorDash and other delivery companies have powerful interests in Albany \u2014 and every incentive to resist regulations that could increase their expenses.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

But these are multibillion-dollar companies whose business models use our streets to make thousands of e-bike trips every day.\u00a0<\/p>\n

They can afford to absorb the reasonable costs of making that system safer \u2014 but we can\u2019t afford the prospect of losing one more life to a recklessly operated e-bike.<\/p>\n

We don\u2019t need another year of studies, speeches and excuses.<\/p>\n

We need to pass Priscilla\u2019s Law \u2014 and finally give New York City the e-bike accountability system its residents demand.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

Read more Democrats\u2019 South Carolina presidential-primary scheme is a last-ditch effort to hold off the DSA<\/a><\/p>\n

Jenifer Rajkumar\u00a0represents South Queens in the state Assembly.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pass Priscilla\u2019s Law \u2014 and finally give New York City the e-bike licensing system that residents demand.\u00a0 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6838,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6839","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion"],"yoast_head":"\nNYC's deadly e-bike crisis is getting worse \u2014 and only Albany can tackle it - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=6839\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"NYC's deadly e-bike crisis is getting worse \u2014 and only Albany can tackle it - 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