February 12, 2022

Problem Solved ! AB-1946 Electric bicycles: safety and training program. (Calif 2022)

The California legislature likes to do three things (1) spend money on government initiatives/programs (spend on yourself I call it) (2) create as many rules and laws as possible to make it look like the legislature is "fixing" a "problem" or solving a "need" (3) do these things in a way that makes nothing mandatory but yet allows the state to spend lots of money doing "something" usually at 10x the cost of what the private sector would spend. In the end it accomplished nothing but at least you can campaign on it (even if it does not pass you can say you voted for it). The bill below meets all three characteristics. Putting up a website that no one even knows about is not going to make e-bike riders safer or better riders. Properly posting the signs and rules on trails and paths and the ENFORCING those rules would go a long way but alas that requires way too much work. Better to just put up a website. Does the state not recall (or know of) People for Bikes website? They have pretty much done all the work. Will the bike industry agree with what the CA "Office of Traffic Safety" is going to write as far as "guidelines"? Does it even matter?

We will try to keep posting on this as it evolves. Watch this space.

Assembly Bill
No. 1946


Introduced by Assembly Member Boerner Horvath

February 10, 2022

An act to add Article 4 (commencing with Section 893) to Chapter 8 of Division 1 of the Streets and Highways Code, relating to electric bicycles.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 1946, as introduced, Boerner Horvath. Electric bicycles: safety and training program.
Existing law, the Protected Bikeways Act of 2014, provides that the state’s bicycle programs have not been fully developed or funded. Existing law requires the Department of Transportation to develop safety standards in connection with the use of bicycles, including the establishment of minimum safety design criteria for the planning and construction of specified types of bikeways and roadways where bicycle travel is permitted.
This bill would require the department, in coordination with the Office of Traffic Safety, to develop, on or before September 1, 2023, statewide safety standards and training programs based on evidence-based practices for users of electric bicycles, as defined, including, but not limited to, general electric bicycle riding safety, emergency maneuver skills, rules of the road, and laws pertaining to electronic bicycles. The bill would require the safety standards and training programs to be developed in collaboration with relevant stakeholders and to be posted on the internet websites of both the department and the Office of Traffic Safety.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Article 4 (commencing with Section 893) is added to Chapter 8 of Division 1 of the Streets and Highways Code, to read:
Article  4. Electric Bicycle Safety and Training
893.
 As used in this article, “electric bicycle” has the meaning provided in Section 312.5 of the Vehicle Code.
894.
 (a) The department, in coordination with the Office of Traffic Safety, shall develop, on or before September 1, 2023, statewide safety standards and training programs based on evidence-based practices for users of electric bicycles, including, but not limited to, general electric bicycle riding safety, emergency maneuver skills, rules of the road, and laws pertaining to electronic bicycles.
(b) The safety standards and training programs shall be developed in collaboration with relevant stakeholders.
(c) The safety standards and training programs shall be posted on the internet websites of both the department and the Office of Traffic Safety on or before September 1, 2023.




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