The rider of a low-speed electric scooter is not considered a pedestrian, like bicyclists are, under New Jersey insurance law, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.
In insurance terms, a low-speed electric scooter (LSES) rider is not relying on “muscular power,” and therefore not a pedestrian.
The high court acted in Union County case brought by a man who was struck by a vehicle in Elizabeth in 2021 while riding a Segway Ninebot KickScooter Max, a two-wheeled scooter equipped with a rechargeable battery.
The rider, David Goyco, sought coverage from his auto insurer, Progressive, under his personal injury protection, or PIP.
PIP is part of the No Fault Act which New Jersey passed in 1972 and called for a driver’s own insurance company to pay for medical bills, regardless of fault in the crash, and to control costs of insurance premiums.
Progressive denied Goyco’s claim, finding the scooter was not an “automobile,” nor a “pedestrian,” the decision says.
Goyco and his lawyers went to court, and lost in the trial level and appellate level, where judges agreed with Progressive’s stance that being on a scooter is not a situation they could cover with PIP.
At the Supreme Court, Goyco’s lawyers argued two things.
First, the No Fault Act covers bicyclists.
And second, a 2019 law Gov. Phil Murphy signed governing the use of low-speed electric scooters - scooters with a max speed of 20 mph - directed they be regulated like regular bicycles, by allowing them on public roads but not requiring registration, insurance or a driver’s license. (The law also applied to electric bicycles.)
So, Goyco’s lawyers argued, a low-speed electric scooter is essentially a bicycle, eligible for PIP benefits if a rider is injured while operating one.
But not for insurance purposes, the high court found.
The 2019 law supplemented Title 39, the state’s motor-vehicle and traffic laws, and the No Fault Act covers insurance.
The No Fault Act covers bicyclists as pedestrians due to the definition of the word pedestrian, which is requires “muscular power.”
The Supreme Court said the state Legislature, “may certainly choose to expand the availability of PIP coverage to LSES operators, as they did with motorcycles, but that policy decision and its insurance cost implications, if any, is properly for the Legislature, not the Court.”
Christian LoPiano, Goyco’s attorney who argued the case, hopes the Legislature does act, soon.
“Naturally we are very disappointed with the New Jersey Supreme Court’s decision which leaves injured operators of low-speed electric scooters and bicycles without no fault coverage for the payment of their medical bills and income continuation benefits,” he said.
“We trust the New Jersey Legislature will act expeditiously in response to this decision and correct the ambiguities in the 2019 law as written which the court interpreted to deny such socially necessary benefits to injured operators of low-speed electric scooters and bicycles.”
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Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com
