CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 1946

Introduced by Assembly Member Boerner Horvath

February 10, 2022

An act to add Article 4 (commencing with Section 893) to Chapter 8 of Division 1 of the Streets and Highways Code, relating to electric bicycles.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 1946, as introduced, Boerner Horvath. Electric bicycles: safety and training program.
Existing law, the Protected Bikeways Act of 2014, provides that the state’s bicycle programs have not been fully developed or funded. Existing law requires the Department of Transportation to develop safety standards in connection with the use of bicycles, including the establishment of minimum safety design criteria for the planning and construction of specified types of bikeways and roadways where bicycle travel is permitted.
This bill would require the department, in coordination with the Office of Traffic Safety, to develop, on or before September 1, 2023, statewide safety standards and training programs based on evidence-based practices for users of electric bicycles, as defined, including, but not limited to, general electric bicycle riding safety, emergency maneuver skills, rules of the road, and laws pertaining to electronic bicycles. The bill would require the safety standards and training programs to be developed in collaboration with relevant stakeholders and to be posted on the internet websites of both the department and the Office of Traffic Safety.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Article 4 (commencing with Section 893) is added to Chapter 8 of Division 1 of the Streets and Highways Code, to read:
Article  4. Electric Bicycle Safety and Training

893.
 As used in this article, “electric bicycle” has the meaning provided in Section 312.5 of the Vehicle Code.

894.
 (a) The department, in coordination with the Office of Traffic Safety, shall develop, on or before September 1, 2023, statewide safety standards and training programs based on evidence-based practices for users of electric bicycles, including, but not limited to, general electric bicycle riding safety, emergency maneuver skills, rules of the road, and laws pertaining to electronic bicycles.
(b) The safety standards and training programs shall be developed in collaboration with relevant stakeholders.
(c) The safety standards and training programs shall be posted on the internet websites of both the department and the Office of Traffic Safety on or before September 1, 2023.