Requesting NVBC Consensus On Key Cycling Safety Issues For 2027 Legislative Session

Up to July 6. 2025, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department’s (Metro) official Weekly Traffic Statistics combined many different micromobility modes into one “Fatals” category labeled: Bicyclist/Electric Scooter.  This led to many hyperbolic and misleading headlines erroneously disparaging e-bikes.  Since May of 2025, the Director and I have worked with Metro to breakout the category into each micromobility type, but so far they only list Bicyclist, Electric Bicycle, Electric Scooter, Electric Skateboard.

The only way to accurately analyze micromobility risks is by collecting collision and injury statistics broken out by: scooter, e-scooter, bicycle, e-bicycle, skateboard, e-skateboard, and e-moto, as well as by age, juvi, gender, non-injury, minor injury, critical injury and fatal injury.

We also need the data broken out by classification number, maximum assisted speed and wattage for all e-devices following NRS 484B.784 guidelines. E-bikes are the only mode that currently has classification numbers.

At least 95% of near-miss incidents are three-foot violations that can be addressed by sending drivers a hand signed three-foot warning letter when a cyclist reports being endangered by a three-foot violation.  This is the best non-punitive educational tool that can change dangerous drivers’ behavior by letting them know that law enforcement tales cycling safety seriously.  A state-wide system accessible by cyclists in all jurisdictions should be used to submit near-miss incident reports, generate near-miss data to identify dangerous areas and repeat offenders, and report monthly statistics.

Citations should always be issued for egregious near-miss incidents including reckless driving, distracted driving and assault, especially when cyclists have video evidence.

New Jersey’s law protects pedestrians, including joggers on the roadway, bicycles, standard and electric, low-speed electric scooters, wheelchairs, manual and motorized, and "any other lawful personal conveyance" which is a catch-all provision.

Requirements: First option: Change lanes if possible.  Second option: Leave at least 4 feet of space (not 3 feet!).  Third option: If neither is possible, slow to 25 mph or lower, be prepared to stop.

Nevada Vulnerable Road User “Due Care” Laws

NRS 484B.270 – Duty of Care Toward Cyclists & E-Scooter Riders.  Three-foot law.  Drivers shall NOT intentionally interfere with the movement of a person lawfully riding a bicycle, e-bicycle, or e-scooter.  Cyclists may ride away from the right side when it’s unsafe.
NRS 484B.280 – Duties Toward Pedestrians.  Does not specify a minimum distance.

Drivers do not know about these laws and are they ever enforced?  Violations are not included in Metro’s Weekly Traffic Statistics.

There is no minimum distance for pedestrians, and they do not cover runners, skateboarders, wheelchairs, an electric personal assistive mobility device, rollerbladers, horses or any other lawful personal conveyance.

I have been threatened and endangered as a runner and rollerblader when connected trails are absent and I am forced to use the road.  A large pickup driver once told me the three-foot law only applies to cyclists so he could endanger me without breaking any laws.  He was right!

City and county ordinances only apply to new development, and even then, there is no enforcement.  During the summer of 2024, BikeRackMap.com (BRM) performed the first ever census of 16 square miles in NW Las Vegas revealing over 22,000 vehicle parking spaces and 43 bike racks.  93% of the racks were rated 0 or 1 star out of 5.  BRM member cyclists evaluated Albertsons bike parking at 22 of their 32 Las Vegas Valley locations.  81% of the racks were rated zero out of five stars, "unusable," and 19% were rated one star, "the bare minimum."  We are about to publish an analysis of Walmart locations across the Valley with similar results.  99% of the racks in these three studies are cyclist-repellent and prohibited under city and county guidelines.

Ordinances should not only provide minimum guidelines that are commonly ignored, they should incentivize “excellent” rated bike parking.  They should also incentivize bike parking improvement projects by commercial property managers, corporations and organizations to install “excellent” rated bike parking.  Cities and counties should provide or use a cyclist rated bike parking inventory with a minimum of fifty percent “excellent” rated bike parking to attract cyclists to safe, secure, convenient and connected bike parking networks.

Peer-reviewed medical studies indicate that nationwide, head injuries are the most common cycling injury across all age groups.

A common TBI complication is bleeding within the brain or between the brain and skull — and roughly 10% require surgery, depending on the bleed’s location and size, Taylor said. Even a minor TBI can cause cognition and mood changes, concentration trouble, persistent headaches, dizziness, or balance problems.

“Those symptoms can go on for weeks to months after minor traumatic brain injury,” Taylor said. “With a severe one, you may never recover.”

In the eyes of a personal injury attorney, a helmet represents a rider's commitment to safety. When a cyclist is hit by a car, the defense will look for any reason to shift the blame away from the driver. Not wearing a helmet provides them with an easy narrative to suggest the cyclist was reckless or indifferent to safety.

By wearing a helmet, you strengthen your legal protection in traffic court. It demonstrates that you were operating your bicycle in a responsible and law-abiding manner, which makes it much harder for insurance companies to argue that you contributed to the damages sustained in a collision.

California Vehicle Code § 21212, the "Youth Bicycle Helmet Law" subdivision (a) reads essentially: a person under 18 years of age shall not operate a bicycle, a nonmotorized scooter, or a skateboard, wear in-line or roller skates, or ride upon a bicycle as a passenger, unless wearing a properly fitted and fastened helmet.

Helmets are required for bicycle, e-bike or e-scooter riders under 18 in Henderson.  North Las Vegas requires helmets for minors riding e-bikes and e-scooters.  Unincorporated Clark County and Las Vegas require helmets only for e-bike and e-scooter riding minors under 18.

Micromobility riders over 18 should model behavior for those under 18.

Las Vegas Safe Routes to School videos show the vast majority of students, on all forms of micromobility, do not have helmets.

Adopt the common-sense Federal Consumer Product Safety Commission standard.

Skidding is uncontrolled braking.  The automotive industry spent decades and millions of dollars in automotive research and development to design and implement anti-skid, anti-lock brakes that prevent uncontrolled braking and hydroplaning.  It is dangerous and irresponsible for Nevada law to require this unsafe behavior.

According to 16 CFR Part 1512 (Requirements for Bicycles), specifically Section 1512.18 on tests and test procedures: (J) A test run is invalid if front-wheel lockup occurs.  This means if your front brake locks and causes the wheel to skid during testing, the bicycle fails the test. The requirement is for controlled, effective braking, not skidding.

Instead, they have a stopping distance requirement of 15 feet.

Intersections on the Northern Beltway Trail (NBT), for example at Jones and Decatur, are incredibly dangerous and especially so for rollerbladers who have to roll over the ADA yellow raised bump strip eight times to cross the intersections. The bump strips are hazardous when rollerbladers have to stop and then try to start near, or on, the slippery strips while entering the morning river of vehicles flowing into the 215 on and off ramps.

Worse yet, it makes absolutely no sense that vulnerable road users have to cross the river of vehicles to push the button located at the first island to request a pedestrian crossing.

This is a design and safety problem at intersections all along the NBT.

Most people think front and rear flashing lights are valuable on roads at night to uniquely identify cyclists from a distance.

A front flashing light is also invaluable on trails when a micromobility user heads east into a rising sun, or in areas shrouded in heavy daytime shadows that make oncoming micromobility users invisible.

A set of flashing lights are very inexpensive, I just paid $12.99 for two that can be used for a front and back light, and they can be adjusted from only white or red, to a combination of both.  Amazon’s price history shows they were as low as $8 for two.

Class 1 pedal assist e-bikes are speed limited at 20 mph.  Class 2 pedal assist and throttle e-bikes are speed limited at 20 mph.  Class 3 e-bikes, such as Trek Borrego+, FX+ 2S and the Townie Go! S models, have a throttle to 20 and pedal assist to 28, as do many other e-bike manufacturers, yet Nevada law mandates that Class 3 e-bikes cannot have a throttle.  Why is it legal to have a 20 mph speed limited throttle on a Class 2 e-bike but not on a Class 3?  This is illogical and discriminatory.

Ky and Misty Carter did great work on a Nevada Stop as Yield bill, Assembly Bill 168, including producing this video and Ky wrote this article for the Nevada Current explaining the frustration with the bill not passing by a single vote out of 42.

12 states plus Washington D.C. have passed similar legislation.  The exact number depends on how you count partial laws, but the most detailed state-by-state listings put it at 12 states and the District of Columbia as of mid-2026.

Pennsylvania’s new bill is currently in Transportation Committee since August 2026.

E-bikes are included in all of the states.

The Only Outlier: Nevada!

Nevada's failed AB168 is the clearest example of deliberate exclusion. Sponsor Heather Goulding told KUNR the bill "would only apply to traditional bicycles and not to electric bikes and e-scooters," specifically to address concerns from law enforcement.