
One of the 2,300 measures that were introduced at the beginning of Oregon’s legislative session on Tuesday is a proposed regulation that would restrict where certain electric bikers are allowed to ride.
Senate Bill 471, which was introduced by Floyd Prozanski, a Democratic state senator, would prohibit Class 3 e-bikes from using bike lanes, sidewalks, and bike paths.
On Tuesday, the senator stated that the purpose of his measure is to ensure the safety of all travelers.
“The concern, from my perspective, is that we want to make certain all of these paths and trails are safe for all. That people can use them with respect for each other,” Prozanski stated.
In Oregon, Class 3 e-bikes can reach a maximum motor assistance speed of 28 miles per hour, while Class 1 and Class 2 e-bikes can reach a maximum motor aid speed of 20 miles per hour.
“Unfortunately, there are a number of situations that have occurred where individuals that are on full throttle e-bikes are not really being respectful to others in the sense of the speed they’re riding on these paths, and either near misses or actual accidents that have occurred,” Prozanski added.
In Oregon, Class 3 e-bikes can reach a maximum motor assistance speed of 28 miles per hour, while Class 1 and Class 2 e-bikes can reach a maximum motor aid speed of 20 miles per hour.
“I cycle a lot, I do in Eugene, and I use many of the paths on our way out to get out onto roads and do road riding. There have been times where I’ve visually seen people actually have the near miss. I’ve had other anecdotal stories told to me of where there have been actual accidents or collisions,” the senator continued.

The Oregon Department of Transportation began gathering information about e-bike accidents in 2022. The agency informed that it is too soon to determine any patterns in e-bike incidents because just initial crash data is available for 2023.
ODOT’s statistics shows that there were two fatal e-bike crashes and 83 non-fatal e-bike crashes in 2022. The bulk (71) of such crashes took place during the day, with 56 of them happening at junctions.
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According to ODOT, early data from 2023 suggests that e-bike crashes have decreased, with one fatal crash and 55 non-fatal crashes.
The senator stressed the importance of safety for people on pathways, saying, “For my years of riding, it appears that many individuals that are using full throttle e-bikes are just not either conscious or respectful as to the situation they are creating by driving those type of vehicles that are at excessive rates of speed and also not giving any verbal signaling as they are passing others on those paths.”
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“The rules of the road [are] still going to be applicable,” Prozanski added, noting, “I was the author of the bill that actually allowed for bicyclists to use the stop sign or view the stop sign as a yield sign. But as you know, under that law, you still have a duty to right-of-way.”
According to the senator, law enforcement would police the law just like they would any other traffic rule if it were passed.