specifically calls out electric skateboards
That sucks on the plus side itās some sort of recognition I guess, also at least itās not exclusively prohibiting eskateboards Looks like a nice trail.
State of california has fully legalized electric skateboards. āelectrically motorized boardsā and āmotorized skateboardsā are 2 different things in law. Going 20mph with a helmet is legal.
-I was wondering the same thingā¦ do electric boards count as āmotorizedā or are they referring to āgas poweredā skateboards?
For CA, they make a legal distinction between āmotorized skateboardā and āelectric skateboardā. However both gas and electric qualify to be āmotorized skateboardā. If the board goes over 20mph or has motors over 1000w or hits a certain size limit, itāll be classified a āmotorized skateboardā and would be illegal nearly everywhere public. Boards that fall within those limitations are still considered āelectric skateboardsā and are legal pretty much everywhere bikes are allowed.
Thatās good to know - do you have any idea what the size limits are?
313.5. An āelectrically motorized boardā is any wheeled device that has a floorboard designed to be stood upon when riding that is not greater than 60 inches deep and 18 inches wide, is designed to transport only one person, and has an electric propulsion system averaging less than 1,000 watts, the maximum speed of which, when powered solely by a propulsion system on a paved level surface, is no more than 20 miles per hour. The device may be designed to also be powered by human propulsion.
Entire bill here
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB604
It would be interesting to see someone build a 60 x 18 deck
This also technically makes nearly all popular commercial boards illegal due to the watt limit, but no oneās going around measuring wattage while riding to prove it. Also iffy on what āaverage wattageā means.
5 feet? thatās a lot of leeway. I suspect Iāll have to carry the text of that bill in my wallet when Iām riding.
Thanks for the citation, @Jinra
damn you California, wasnāt taking away good guns and magazine enough?!
And no one is actually going to care ā¦I was riding on public streets in DOWNTOWN LA during rush hours, and COPās never looked at me once.
Thx @Jinra! I wonder if police are receiving training in identifying wattage? Iām so interested in how CA handles all this because Iām sure they will be a model for other states in the future.
In practice/reality, Can folks use an eSK8 in a āno motorized boardsā area if you remain below 20MPH and are respectful of others on a trail? (even if your wattage exceeds that 1000w threshold)? @DougM did you ride the trail?
@NAF Yea no one really cares. Iām curious on what āaverage wattageā is though. If you have a 2000w motor and a 1w motor on there, would that mean you have an āaverage wattageā of 1000w?
haha good loop hole just add a little phone vibrator motor on there and bring the āaverageā down
Speed and noise would have been more relevant indicators to monitor than Watts. Why didnāt the authors of this bill consult us haha?
where in california is this trail?
The trail was in Monterey - probably the Monterey Bay Coastal Trail. It looked like great riding - really wide, not a lot of people on it.
Sadly I didnāt have the board with me.
I was riding on the road in the middle of the night and got pulled over by police in Cali. They tried to scare me by saying āhave you ever been to jail before,ā After they just told me to put on some damn lights and were impressed when I told them it does 30+mph and let me go with a warning I guess
If you look at the text for individual code, theyāre not really targeting Esk8 but pretty much any form of transportation except bikes on this trail (CVC 21207.5; CVC 23127, MCC 22-12.5), even manual skateboard (MCC 22-14)
Except California Vehicle Code 21968 - basically says no motorized skateboard, but Electrically Motorized Board is NOT a motorized board (CVC 313.5): this is targeting old school gas powered board as it is written in 1959 and was amended 2016
The question will be- How quickly can you change your remote into beginner mode? Sure officer, give it a try. Nothing over 20mph to see here.