Pedestrian's death in Long Beach highlights risk of e-bikes

The death of a man identified Thursday as the pedestrian struck in Long Beach last week by an electric bike highlights the risk of e-bikes and warrants tightening laws regulating their operation, according to police and traffic experts.

The Nassau County Police Department on Thursday said Barry Spigner, 68, of Long Beach, was struck on the evening of April 11 while walking west on East Park Avenue by an e-bike heading south on Riverside Boulevard and operated by a 47-year-old man. Spigner "suffered severe trauma," according to a police department news release, and was pronounced dead at a hospital about 24 hours later.

1 death, 5 serious injuries

Since the start of 2024 in Suffolk County, e-bike crashes have led to the death of one person and serious injuries to five others, according to Highway Patrol Bureau data emailed to Newsday by a Suffolk police spokesperson.

A Nassau police spokesperson did not immediately provide data regarding e-bike crashes or respond to questions about whether the investigation into Spigner’s death was ongoing, and if the e-bike operator faces any charges or traffic violation citations.

State law requires e-bike riders to be at least 16 years old. Riders under 18 must wear a helmet while operating the motorized bikes. E-bikes can be used in either vehicle or bike lanes — not sidewalks — and unlike motorcycles or mopeds, riders do not need to register the vehicle or possess a driver’s license.

Despite the age law, "at least ... 60 to 70 percent of the people we're seeing on these e-bikes are kids," said Suffolk Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina, which "makes enforcement for us very, very difficult."

Driver's license requirement

Catalina said all e-bike riders, regardless of age, should be required to have a driver’s license as they would a moped.

"You can’t issue a summons to somebody that is 15 years old, so what do we do?" Catalina said in a telephone interview Tuesday. "That becomes a difficult and touchy issue."

In Suffolk County, law enforcement officials can impound a bike if the rider is operating it recklessly. But confiscation presents its own challenges, according to the commissioner.

"If we were to start confiscating everybody’s $1,000 electric bicycles, I would think there’s going to be tremendous outcry in the public," Catalina said. "That’s not saying that we won’t do that and that’s not saying that we haven’t done that. There’s a fine line between keeping the community safe and enraging the community. ... They spent their hard-earned money on these bicycles not knowing how dangerous they were or not considering the dangers that they were causing by purchasing these for their children."

Each municipality can enforce its own restrictions on e-bikes, including their use in county- or town-owned parks, or on trails open to traditional bicycles, Newsday previously reported.

E-bike restrictions

In Long Beach, e-bikes are prohibited on the boardwalk, a popular waterfront public thoroughfare, in addition to being barred from sidewalks. E-bike riders can be fined for traffic violations on any roadway "as would any other motor vehicle," city spokesperson John McNally said in a telephone interview Thursday.

On Tuesday, Long Beach police officers will learn about various micromobility devices from Mineola-based lawyer Daniel Flanzig and the New York Bicycling Coalition, which receives grant funds from the Governor's Traffic Safety Committee for bike education. Some officers do not know how to identify various e-bikes and other small motorized vehicles, Flanzig said, so when they encounter them in the field, they are often "left to guess."

"They make a stop and they don't know what to do,"said Flanzig, who previously hosted sessions with Hempstead and Lynbrook police departments. "It's to help them define the devices, which ones are legal, which ones are illegal, what is a summons that can be issued ... where they can be ridden and who can ride them. It's a broad stroke education to get them up to speed on the laws."

Law enforcement officials and transportation experts describe e-bikes as more dangerous for riders and pedestrians than traditional bicycles. They are heavier, experts say, and their riders can reach faster speeds. The vehicles are categorized into three classes. Class 1 and 2 bikes can reach 20 mph. Class 3 e-bikes — which are not allowed on Long Island or anywhere else in the state outside of New York City — can reach 25 mph.

The vehicles are generally prohibited from any roadway with a speed limit higher than 30 mph.

The average rider of a traditional bicycle rides around 10 mph, according to Samuel Schwartz, a former New York City traffic commissioner, also known as Gridlock Sam.

It’s "basic physics," he added, that increasing both mass and velocity equals a more forceful impact. Traveling at a higher speed also means an e-bike rider needs a greater distance to achieve a full stop, a danger for them as well as motorists.

"You have less time if a car for some reason just pops out on a cross street, and you’re on an e-bike doing 20 or 25 mph," Schwartz said. He added that he would like e-bike speeds to be capped at 20 mph statewide.