Friday, November 6, 2026
Electric bikes have become a familiar sight on Long Island streets, offering an affordable way to get to school, work, the store or the train station. But as their popularity has grown, so have concerns about dangerous riding, illegal vehicles and serious injuries. Nassau County needs to turn its attention to e-bike safety and create a comprehensive plan to protect riders, motorists and pedestrians.
The warnings are no longer theoretical. On. Oct. 26, two 15-year-olds on an electric motorcycle crashed into a car in East Northport, injuring the teens and the motorist and seriously injuring the car passenger.
In September, a 13-year-old riding westbound on Hempstead Turnpike, in East Meadow, struck a stationary vehicle in a parking lot, suffering multiple lacerations and other injuries, and a 63-year-old e-bike rider in Uniondale struck a curb and was thrown over the handlebars, sustaining a head injury. In July, a 14-year-old riding an e-bike in Bethpage suffered severe body trauma in a collision with a car and was airlifted to a hospital in critical condition.
These incidents, reported by Nassau County police, underscore the risks for riders of varying ages and the need for a coordinated response.
Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder has identified e-bikes as a major concern. The police are dealing with several e-bike enforcement cases daily, officials said. That level of activity reflects a problem demanding sustained attention, not occasional crackdowns.
Suffolk County offers a useful model. Last December, its Legislature adopted stricter rules for e-bikes and electric scooters. Among the requirements are a minimum rider age of 16, helmets for all riders, a prohibition on riding on sidewalks and restrictions on roads with speed limits above 30 mph.
The rules also address reckless operation, passengers and compliance with traffic controls. Violations can result in summonses and, in certain cases, impoundment. Suffolk police began enforcing the new requirements this year, including seizing illegal electric dirt bikes.
Suffolk has also focused on public education, including a school safety poster contest intended to make young people more aware of the risks and the rules of e-bikes. That combination of regulation, enforcement and education is the kind of approach Nassau County should embrace.
Nassau, however, faces an additional challenge: confusion over which electric vehicles are legal. County officials have cited an older law, originally designed to address all-terrain vehicles, as a basis for enforcement against certain e-bikes. Meanwhile, state law establishes categories of legal electric-assist bicycles, with restrictions on age, speed and where they may operate. In March, Nassau legislators introduced a proposal to bring county rules more closely in line with state law while continuing to prohibit riding on sidewalks and highways.
The debate needs resolution. Riders should not have to guess whether their bicycles are legal, and police should not have to navigate conflicting interpretations while responding to dangerous behavior. Nassau’s lawmakers should clarify the law, establish consistent standards and explain them publicly. Any new restrictions must be legally sound, enforceable and focused on safety.
The county should also identify high-risk locations, such as Hempstead Turnpike, and work with local governments to determine where targeted enforcement, better signage, safer crossings and other traffic-calming measures are warranted. Police should regularly report on e-bike crashes, injuries, violations and impoundments to measure whether the efforts are working.
Education must be part of the solution, too. Schools, parents, retailers and police should work together to explain age limits, helmet requirements, speed restrictions and the dangers of riding powerful, improperly equipped vehicles. Parents must understand that buying an electric bike for a child does not automatically make it safe or legal for that child to operate.
E-bikes can be useful transportation when operated responsibly and within the law. But convenience cannot come at the expense of public safety. The next step is for Nassau County leaders to deliver a clear, coordinated plan before another family receives a devastating phone call. The time to act is before the next crash, not after it.
