Pedestrian-protection group pushes for e-vehicle safety improvements
NEW YORK CITY - You can’t go many places in New York City without seeing e-vehicles.
Whether they’re electric scooters, e-bikes or mopeds, they’re quickly becoming part of the fabric of the Big Apple, but adjusting to their driving tendencies on the roadways and sidewalks hasn't been seamless.
In fact, it’s been a struggle so much so that the E-Vehicle Safety Alliance called a meeting Wednesday night to address it.
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"Who here is afraid to walk on the sidewalk with the fear of being hit by an e-vehicle," the founder of E-VSA asked the crowd.
Almost every individual in the crowd of more than 100 raised their hands and applauded.
The response is from residents on the Upper East Side who are growing fearful walking on city sidewalks after near misses.
"This guy came out of nowhere going so fast," one audience member told FOX 5 NY. "I didn’t even know he was there until he was on top of me, and he literally swerved to miss me by like 2 ft."
Pam Manasse – a mom, wife, and former musician – experienced a life-altering collision near Lincoln Center a year ago that left her paralyzed on her right side.
"I was hit by a moped who came off the sidewalk right there and hit me head on," Manasse, one of the five speakers to offer their testimony, said.
She’s no longer able to actively pursue her dreams as a lifelong cellist.
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"Now I can’t play still. I don’t have enough to hold the bow," she explained.
A bicyclist also testified, recalling traumatic encounters with an e-bike rider and at one point, only her tears and silence before the crowd could speak for her.
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Attendees of the meeting hope the city will crack down on e-bikers that they feel are wreaking havoc on pedestrians.
"The most important thing in our lives is safety," said the group's founder, calling for the abolishment of the city’s e-bike pilot program, stricter licensing requirements for e-bike operators and more enforcement on city streets.
State Sen. Liz Krueger told FOX 5 NY she aims to take some fresh ideas to Albany.
"I actually think we should hold responsibly the employers for not clarifying what the rules of the road are and how important it is for whoever’s working for them to follow the rules and be exceptionally carefully," she said.