Can I ride an electric bike in Hawaii?
Tuesday, January 26th, 2010 at
2:37 am
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If there are stores dedicated to them and you see people riding them I think you’re safe. Maybe they aren’t technically legal, but lots of great things aren’t. At very worst you might get a small ticket. I’ve heard that its illegal to ride a bike without brakes on city streets but I still ride my fixie because the enjoyment I derive from it is worth more than the fifty or one hundred dollar ticket I might someday have to pay.
If stores are selling them and you see people ridding them they must be legal. Check your states department of transportation.
According to federal law HR727 they are: http://gocarlite.com/page19.php Keep a copy with you when riding.
I was thinking about getting one too and wondered the same thing!! Where are the stores that sell them around the island? I only found one so far and his cheapest is about 900 for one.
as far as i can tell electric bikes are not really illegal but must be registered as “mopeds.”
what i think that means is you cannot DIY/piece together your own electic bicycle because you need a “Certificate of Origin” from the manufacturer which i guess describes the specs and whether it falls with safety/emissions import standards.
all the ones you see i would guess are legal and registered as “mopeds”.
before it was more like every other state defining what it is rather than what it is not. technically electric Razor scooters would be “mopeds”.
personally i think federal law HR727 applies since there is no state law defining a “low-speed electric bicycle”.