BRICK – State law supersedes local law in regards to regulating the safety of electric bicycles, said Councilman Derrick T. Ambrosino during the most recent Township Council Meeting.
The subject came up when a township resident said he nearly hit a rider with his car when exiting a marina on Route 70. The driver of the electric bike was riding the wrong way on the two-lane divided highway, so the resident was looking in the direction of the oncoming traffic.
“It was close,” he said. “I don’t want to see anyone get hit, but they’re taking advantage on the bikes, they’re really flying. They go faster than cars. Maybe we can do something, you know, have a helmet law at least because it’s a motor vehicle.”
He said he is afraid the situation will get out of control and people will start losing their lives.
An electric bike, or ebike, is a bicycle equipped with an electric motor that gets its power from a rechargeable battery mounted on the bike.
Township attorney Kevin Starkey said he agrees with the concern over motorized bicycles.
“They have become a lot more prevalent in the last couple of years, and it’s not just Brick, it’s all over,” he said.
The speed of them makes them a lot more dangerous than regular bicycles, he said, and as far as the legalities, as motorized bikes they are subject to state law.
“The council is limited,” Starkey said. “You mention a helmet law – that’s not within the jurisdiction of the Township Council to make a decision on, they are limited, but I know it’s on the focus of the Township Council, the mayor and the Police Department. It’s high on their list of concerns as well.”
Councilman Derrick T. Ambrosino agreed, and said the electric bikes are bound by state law in regards to things like flow of traffic and rules of the road.
“We are in close communication with our police chief and our Police Department and the Public Safety Committee about these,” he said. “It is actually against the law to modify an electric bike in a way to make it faster, and when the police find that’s occurred they can confiscate them.”
The Brick Police Department has put out an education campaign on social media to let people know about the risks of electric bikes, and they are keeping the public informed as the state laws change, Ambrosino said.
“We’re well aware of the issue and the concern,” he added.
In other news, Councilwoman Marianna Pontoriero said there is a need for Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) to volunteer as advocates for children who are in the foster care system or going through a process where their parents are going through the Division of Youth and Family Services process.
“You can be trained – it is free – and you will be an advocate in court and permitted to meet with the child,” she said.
If you are unable to take in a foster child, there is still an opportunity to assist them and help them by signing on as an advocate, Pontoriero said. Call 1-800-NJ ABUSE or go online and visit casaofnj.org to fill out an application online.
And finally, Mayor Lisa Crate said that the township would once again be holding the annual 9/11 Ceremony to honor the members of our community who lost their lives on that day.
The ceremony will be held at 6 p.m. at Windward Beach Park.
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