Mayor Supports Tougher Penalties for Riders of Scooters and E-bikes, Who Harm Pedestrians
By Yehudit Garmaise
Mayor Bill de Blasio said yesterday that he wanted to see tougher penalties for the riders of a variety of vehicles that commit hit-and-runs and harm pedestrians.
On July 20, State Senator Liz Krueger introduced a new bill that said that the drivers of e-scooters, e-bikes, and the dirt bikes that continually harm pedestrians should be charged with not misdemeanors, but with felonies, which can result in two to seven years in jail, just as drivers of cars who commit hit-and-runs are charged.
Krueger’s bill comes after State Sen. Brad Hoylman and Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal called also called for stricter penalties for e-scooter and motorcycle hit-and-runs after actress Lisa Banes was killed in Manhattan by 26-year-old Brian Boyd, who was riding a motorcycle and charged today with the failure to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk and then leaving the scene of an accident that resulted in a death, the New York Post reported.
Yesterday, when Mayor Bill de Blasio was asked whether he supports state Sen. Krueger’s legislation, he said that he had not yet seen the bill, although he expressed heartfelt support to mandate harsher violations for anyone who commits hit-and-runs.
“I am a radical on this issue,” the mayor told BoroPark24. “I think anybody who harms another person with a car, a motorcycle, an e-bike, a scooter, anything, should suffer tougher penalties.”
“If you hurt someone with any vehicle, you hurt someone,” said Mayor de Blasio, who said that he has fought for tougher penalties for people who commit hit-and-runs for years. “And there needs to be accountability and not a sense of recklessness.”
In early June, state Sen. Simcha Felder also introduced four new bills to create safer streets by requiring all New York City cyclists, bikers, and e-scooter rides of all ages to wear helmets, to affix license plates on two-wheel vehicles, and to take safety pre-licensing courses that would result in mandatory bicycle licenses.