Ocean City woman will fight again for electric bike
By RICHARD DEGENER Staff Writer pressofAtlanticCity.com
Friday, March 9, 2012 11:36 pm
PressOfAtlanticCity.com
OCEAN CITY — Denise Baj will go to court for a third time to try and win approval to navigate her electric bicycle around town.
Like the first two times, Baj, 51, of First Street, doesn’t really have a choice.
The police recently issued her nine tickets for riding the unusual vehicle.
“It’s ridiculous. It’s harassment at this point. The two previous cases were dismissed. There is no law banning electric bikes in New Jersey. Anywhere a bicycle goes, I can go,” said Baj.
It may not be that simple. There are differences in laws relating to bicycles, motorized bicycles, mo-peds and motorcycles.
The police, at the urging of municipal Prosecutor Don Charles, want to see if requirements such as insurance, registration, motorcycle-type helmets as opposed to bicycle helmets and other things apply to the unusual conveyance. Another court case is the way to test this, said police Capt. Steven Ang.
“We want to see if some of this fits, if all of this fits or if none of this fits. We’re trying to make the streets safe for everybody and need a ruling on this,” said Ang.
“If it’s made legal, that’s fine. We’ll let it be,” he added.
Confusion about what rules apply helped get the matter out of court twice before. Baj said in a case last June the judge told her to try and register the vehicle with the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission. She said she tried but they wouldn’t do it because “they consider me a bicycle.”
But even Baj agrees there is a gray area as one state statute raises questions about certain motorized vehicles. Baj argues the 700-watt electric motor on hers is under the threshold and is considered a bicycle. It also has pedals. She said it also can’t go more than 25 mph, another threshold, and would be lucky to hit 20 mph.
State Sen. Jeff Van Drew, D-Cape May, Cumberland, Atlantic, is trying to help Baj. He said the electric bike is sold locally and allowed nationally.
“There’s nothing wrong with this vehicle. They should be allowed in use. It’s typical bureaucracy. You can’t drive it unless you register it, and you can’t register it,” Van Drew said.
Van Drew has considered drafting a law that he said would benefit Baj, the Motor Vehicle Commission and police by setting parameters.
“It’s very complicated. There’s no bad guy here,” Van Drew said.
At the urging of the commission, Van Drew said he is first awaiting an opinion from the state Attorney General’s Office.
“The attorney general is supposed to create a mechanism to register them. I want to draft a bill that the governor will sign and is constitutional. I’m waiting for attorney general’s guidance,” Van Drew said.
One concern is whether the machines could be used by people who have lost their driver’s license for drunken driving or other offenses. Baj did lose her license for drunken driving but the time period for the suspension is over. She said she hasn’t gotten her license back simply because she can’t afford to pay the surcharges.
Baj said she couldn’t afford a car anyway. She said she is a single-mother on a fixed income from Social Security for a disability caused by a 1994 car accident. She said she can’t ride a regular bicycle due the back injury suffered in that accident.
“I can’t afford a car or insurance or the maintenance of a vehicle,” said Baj.
Baj thought the issue was over after a June 2010 court case, but nine tickets arrived in Thursday’s mail, she said. The tickets are mostly for things that would be required if she were driving a moped. This includes driving an uninsured vehicle, driving without a license, driving while suspended, and driving an unregistered vehicle. Tickets for her and a passenger, 13-year-old son Ryan Romanelli, were for wearing bicycle helmets as opposed to sturdier mo-ped helmets.
The initial court date is set for next week, but the case will not be argued at that time.
“I’ll state ‘not guilty’ and apply for a public defender,” said Baj.
The electric bicycle has a headlight, mirrors, brake lights and a trunk. Baj, a local resident for 10 years, admits it looks bigger than a bicycle but said she has been riding it since 2009 and has never been in an accident. She only uses it around town.
Baj argues the look of the machine is a factor. Ang seems to agree.
“It looks like a mo-ped. It operates like a mo-ped. If you go to the website they advertise it as a mo-ped. We feel it should fall under the same guidelines,” Ang said.
One difference could be an electric motor recharged with household current and less powerful than gasoline-operated mopeds. Other differences could be argued about in court.
Prosecutor Charles and representatives at the Motor Vehicle Commission did not return phone calls on Friday.
Contact Richard Degener:
609-463-6711
We actually have two separate designations for various types of small powered vehicles, 'mopeds', which all ebikes fall under, and 'motor scooters', which most of the little pedal-less things have. Fortunately, neither of those designations requires registration or licensing of the vehicle, though they do both require either a valid drivers license or a valid 'scooter license'.
