NYC launches e-bike safety campaign: 'Get Smart Before You Start'

NEW YORK CITY - NYC Mayor Eric Adams and the Department of Transportation (DOT) launched a new campaign called, "Get Smart Before You Start" on e-bike safety. 

The program targets new and inexperienced e-bike riders to educate them on how to navigate the city’s bike lanes properly. 

New statistics reveal that more than three times as many people died on electric-powered bikes last year than those on a traditional bicycle. 

"This campaign aims to reduce injury and fatalities on our road. When it comes to e-bikes, those numbers are far too high in recent years," NYC DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez said. 

City officials said nearly 6% of adults living in the city say they ride an e-bike at least once a week.

NYC DOT broke records last year by installing 31.9 miles of protected bike lanes and introducing "double-wide" lanes, aiming to cater to the growing population of cyclists navigating our city streets.  

After bike ridership reached its high, the agency is dedicated to enhancing infrastructure to support e-bike users and intensifying enforcement measures to curb hazardous road behaviors. 

"You need to take responsibility, and you need to ride in a manner that takes into consideration everyone around you and protect yourself," Kim Wiley-Schwartz, the Assistant Commissioner for Education & Outreach for NYC DOT said. 

E-bike crashes are down so far in 2024, but it is still making up more than 75% of deadly bike crashes, according to city officials.  

There will be enforcement, but in addition to telling riders to obey traffic signals and stay off the sidewalk, the focus is on how to safely accelerate, how to brake, and when to slow down.