(disclaimer i no longer own a boosted board but it is how i got into eboarding)
obviously I disputed the ticket and my court hearing is tomorrow
the cop said that because an electric skateboard has motors I cant ride in the bike lane and because you cant register the board, you cant ride on the street either
I get that electric skateboards aren’t technically legal (or illegal?), but my argument tomorrow in court is going to be that its not fair to give someone points on their license for operating something that doesn’t require a license to begin with
has anyone else disputed an eboard ticket in court before? any lawyers out there? looking for ideas
the cop wasnt wrong about me changing lanes without using my blinker (lol), but it was only to avoid this crap in the bike lane:
ahh man, im sorry to hear that. you definitly don’t deserve points on your license for riding a skateboard. dress nice for your hearing, i hope they dismiss it.
Wow, the one hundred or so youtube videos, especially Tishawn and the hundreds of esk8ers in the area, then this special transit cop gives you a ticket!?!?! That is some bs!
I haven’t really heard of anyone in NYC having this issue, and they ride, EVERYWHERE! I mean, bike lanes, streets, Central Park, everywhere. Even when confronted by cops, it was in areas where they had high pedestrian traffic. That only lead to them being asked to leave that area with their boards.
I wish I had some advise, but please let us know how all this goes.
This will certainly make it a more expensive situation. If you bring a big diesel truck with black soot spewing out the back, they will be less hard on you, even though you’d be worse for society.
Maybe make a post on a nyc esk8 page. Get the support of the local community to rally behind you. Would love to see the look on the prosecutions face when a dozen esk8’rs show up with boards.
Look up laws concerning mopeds. And what defines a motorized vehicle. Anything under 50cc and/or does not exceed 22 miles per hour is not considered a motorized vehicle and therefore does not require a license.
That’s not true. There are area’s the NYCEC adivse not to ride since stuff like this happens. Im pretty sure either the Upper East Side or the Highway around there is very advise against. And cops do due ESK8/Electric Vehicle Sweeps wave every now and then. Just not very often
There’s a reason the majority of the pre made electric skateboards sold in America are capped out at 23 (22 in some states) miles per hour. Anything more and it technically becomes a motorized vehicle by the definition of law.
thats the police state of america, they fund their department through tickets and other fines, he could almost do and say anything without any consequenses.
I would bring in a manufacturer’s spec sheet to prove that your bored is underpowered to be considered a motorized vehicle. do some reading about moped laws in your state because those are the laws we tend to fall under. Look up what defines a motorized vehicle in your state.
from a year ago (that redditor hasn’t been heard from since, so I hope he wasn’t hurt riding or arrested and sent to Gitmo):
I’m a NY rider, and also a practicing attorney. To clarify, because there’s been a ton of very sloppy media reporting about this, and the NYPD has given out confusing information in the past too:
There is no "recent hoverboard law." Zero laws or regulations have been passed in response to hoverboards in NY. All this talk of a ban began a few months ago when the NYPD sent out a tweet citing an existing regulation that appeared to ban motorized scooters. The media jumped onto the "NYPD is banning hoverboards” and/or the "hoverboards are now illegal" bandwagon. The reality was, there was no NYPD action to ban hoverboards and there was no new law. The NYPD’s intent was simply to remind people that pursuant to an existing law, hoverboards are illegal.
Then, people pointed out this regulation didn't actually apply to hoverboards, because they don't have handlebars, and the regulation cited by the NYPD appeared to exempt devices without handlebars. Then everyone jumped on the "haha, the NYPD was wrong, hoverboards aren't actually illegal" bandwagon.
Unfortunately, this was also erroneous. The NYPD eventually corrected their mistake and cited to the correct, long-existing sections of NY State Law. The gist of the law is this: anything that gets you from point A to point B on something other than human power is considered a “motor vehicle.” Anything that is a “motor vehicle,” in order to be legal to operate on roads/bike routes/etc, must either be registered with the DMV OR specifically exempted (such as personal mobility devices for disabled people). EVERY other “motor vehicle” is illegal to operate in NYC. Think of the law as a blanket ban with exemptions - motor vehicles are illegal unless registered or otherwise exempt. Then contrast this to the other potential approach - things are legal unless specifically banned. The problem is that the media (and therefore the public) talked about the traffic laws as if they were the latter: if there’s no specific ban targeting hoverboards/boosted boards/etc, they must be legal. But this isn’t how the law works.
The bottom line is therefore: both boosted boards and hoverboards are illegal to operate in NYC and always have been since they appeared on the market. The law makes absolutely no distinction between them (or between e-bikes for that matter): they are all motor vehicles that can’t be registered with the DMV and aren’t otherwise exempt from the general ban. This has ALWAYS been the case for so long as the traffic law has been what it is. There’s actually not much confusing about the law; it’s pretty straightforward. The fact that they don’t ticket people is because the NYPD doesn’t enforce these laws for the most part. However, they have every right to enforce them at their discretion at any time they want. Just look at the example of e-bikes: everyone knows they are illegal, the NYPD periodically cracks down, but outside of those crackdowns, you see delivery guys ride e-bikes all the time with impunity. Boosted boards are technically treated the exact same as e-bikes under New York State Law, it’s just that there has never been a boosted board crackdown.
The existing law is not “inaccurate” - that seems like a poor/confusing choice of words by those holding the press conference. The law is what it is, I think what he means to say (which seems supported by context) is that the law MAKES hoverboards illegal, but that hoverboards SHOULD BE legal because they don’t present any significant danger to the road beyond those posed by skateboards, etc. But that’s a different argument than saying the existing laws permit hoverboards and/or that they are confusing in their treatment of hoverboards. Neither is true.
Don’t bring your board, Not if you can’t guarantee a win.
ill have to do some research but im pretty sure they actually are technically not allowed. my goal is not to argue that they are allowed as i think id lose, but to argue that i shouldnt be given points on my license
for instance: anyone of any age can buy a boosted board in nyc. and if someone without a license bought one and got pulled over like i did then they would have gotten less of a punishment because they dont have a drivers license
so basically what that cop is saying is if you are legally allowed to drive, then your punishment for riding an electric skateboard in nyc will be more severe. i feel like theres got to be some sort of legal term for how thats not fair…
