Jersey Shore Warned of Electric Bike and Skateboard Crackdown.

wildwood crest ebikes
Wildwood Crest Pic: Donna Touhey.

A growing safety hazard that can’t be ignored. Motorized bikes and skateboards on city streets, sidewalks and boardwalks. A real threat to pedestrians. Especially young children and seniors. Dogs on the boardwalk are also vulnerable.

Better late then never. Some towns, like Wildwood Crest and Ocean City are cracking down and enforcing laws already on their books.

Last week, Margate announced that JIF ( Joint Insurance Fund ) has a special bulletin coming in regards to electric bikes.

Margate CFO Lisa McLaughlin: Lots of issues. JIF will soon issuing new guidelines. JIF wants all towns to review or adopt ordinances to regulate e-bikes. LISTEN:

Listen: CFO Lisa McLaughlin

Margate Mayor Michael Becker on rise of e-bike issues: It gets worse every year.

I saw a woman on an electric bike going against traffic with a young child in the front basket.

Margate CFO Lisa McLaughlin

If threatened by higher JIF insurance rates, the Ventnor and Atlantic City boardwalks could soon see more enforcement of their NO MOTOR VEHICLES ON BOARDWALK ordinance.

E-bikes often weigh 50% more than a regular bike. With some ebike speeds reaching 25+ mph, injuries and damage can be more severe. Many e-bike accidents go unreported.

Pedestrians and heavy, fast, e-bikes don’t mix very well.

ebikes, electric bikes, scooters Ventnor Margate Atlantic City

Crowded boardwalks and walkways. Pedestrians come first.

A rising number of accidents involving e-bikes and e-scooters in recent weeks.

Wildwood Crest cracking down on motorized bikes, motorized scooters & ALL skateboards.

10 thoughts on “Jersey Shore Warned of Electric Bike and Skateboard Crackdown.”

  1. Ventnor will most likely have to get the money from somewhere to provide funding to support the enforcement by the authorities.
    I propose a tax increase just for this purpose!
    We need the fast bikes off the boardwalk!
    I’m sure my neighbors in Ventnor will join me!

    1. You think the e-bikes on the boardwalk is a more pressing and dangerous issue than the motorcycles and ATVs speeding down Ventnor streets in packs? BOTH need increased crackdowns and enforcement.

  2. Phil from Ventnor

    Bikes of all types should be banned from the Ventnor boardwalk Saturdays and Sundays in the summer. Too crowded! Stripe Atlantic Avenue with a simple bike lane, not the over-the-top “road diet” they bastardized the road with.

    1. No Phil, just walk on the right of the boardwalk in pairs. Not four across, and don’t stop to kibbitz in the middle of the boardwalk with your neighbors, do it on the side, please.

      Don’t walk onto the boardwalk with your head in your phone, look both ways to see if bikes are coming.

      Remember one law that isn’t in any city code: Newton’s second law, which is f = ma. Force equals Mass x Acceleration. That means if a bike is going 9 miles per hour and the operator weighs 225 lbs., that’s gonna hurt if impacted.

      Look before you leap and there’s plenty of room for bikers, walkers, and runners.

      1. Except the difference is that a typical bike weights 15-20 lbs. a typical e-bike 30-40 pounds. Meaning that force is 2x higher on an e-bike.

  3. Then why are golf carts allowed on the street when that vehicle goes over 25 mph and what damage would it occur if hit by a car when the NO DOORS VEHICLES CARRYING KIDS is struck ,golf carts belong on the golf course not on the streets so outlaw those vehicles if your going to outlaw electric bikes on the boardwalk….

    1. Well, Johnny Boy, they’re not golf carts. They’re Low Speed Vehicles. LSVs are titled and registered with NJMVC, and drivers must be licensed and insured.

      Drivers must follow same rules of the road as every other driver, and they’re subject to moving violation if they do not.

      LSV’s must be equipped with seat belts, a windshield, turn signals, headlamps, break lights, tail lights, and reflectors.

      https://nj.gov/mvc/vehicletopics/lowspeed.htm

  4. So wait, you’re comparing licensed carts driving on roads, with electronic bikes being ridden on a pedestrian boardwalk? Congratulations, that’s the worst, and least relevant comparison ever.

  5. Any motorized transportation such as electric bikes, golf carts, cars, motorcycles that are not 100% powered by pedaling, pushing or pulling should be licensed. Anything that can move at 25 mph or better should have a license plate and insurance. Just because it is powered by electric doesn’t mean it’s exempt from the law.

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