New Orleans Police and cycling enthusiasts and advocates are putting out an urgent warning to those who ride e-bikes to use extra care when riding them. It comes as four people have been killed in crashes involving e-bikes in the city so far this year. Buddy Micheu, the captain of the NOPD’s traffic unit, says riding an e-bike requires a lot more skill than riding a regular bike.
“It will enhance your time and distance to how fast you can stop, how well you can navigate the turn. And if you fall from a bike that’s traveling 20-25 mph, the type of injuries we see are even more substantial,” Micheu explained.
Captain Micheu says when e-bikes aren’t ridden properly, it can lead to disastrous results.
” We’ve seen where an individual didn’t navigate a turn correctly and hit a school bus; didn’t navigate a turn correctly and hit a RTA bus. We’ve seen where some of them lost control, hit a curb and then come to his injuries later,” Micheu noted.
All e-bikes sold in the U.S. are pedal-assist bikes, and those whose motors work up to 20 miles an hour before cutting out can also come with a throttle. Under federal law, pedal assistance with e-bikes may only work up to 28 mph before cutting out. Any assistance beyond 28 mph would make them e-motorcycles, requiring them to be insured and registered as such with the OMV.
Adam Watts with Bicycle World of New Orleans says all bicyclists, whether they’re riding e-bikes or not, need to follow the rules of the road, and there are two in particular that he sees violated regularly: riding on the sidewalk and riding against traffic – that is, on the left side of the road.
“To a lot of people, it may seem safe and counterintuitive; but the fact is, both activities are super dangerous,” Watts said.