E-Bike and Injury Law Glossary

Vehicles and Classifications

Electric bicycle

A bicycle or tricycle with fully operable pedals, a seat or saddle for the rider, and an electric motor of less than 750 watts meeting one of three classifications (Fla. Stat. § 316.003(23)). All elements are required.

Class 1 electric bicycle

A motor providing assistance only while the rider is pedaling, ceasing at 20 mph (§ 316.003(23)(a)).

Class 2 electric bicycle

A motor that “may be used exclusively to propel” the bicycle — a throttle — ceasing to assist at 20 mph (§ 316.003(23)(b)).

Class 3 electric bicycle

A motor providing assistance only while the rider is pedaling, ceasing at 28 mph (§ 316.003(23)(c)).

Bicycle

A vehicle “propelled solely by human power,” with two tandem wheels (§ 316.003(4)). The word “solely” matters to the PIP question.

Motor vehicle (traffic code)

A self-propelled vehicle not operated on rails, expressly excluding bicycles, electric bicycles, motorized scooters, mopeds and others (§ 316.003(46)).

Motor vehicle (PIP)

A different definition entirely: a self-propelled vehicle “with four or more wheels” designed and required to be licensed for highway use (§ 627.732(3)). An e-bike can never satisfy it.

Moped

A vehicle with pedals, a seat, no more than three wheels, a motor of not more than 2 brake horsepower and incapable of exceeding 30 mph on level ground (§ 316.003(44)).

Motorized scooter

A motor-powered vehicle or micromobility device, with or without a seat, no more than three wheels, incapable of exceeding 20 mph on level ground (§ 316.003(48)).

Low-speed electric bicycle (federal)

A two- or three-wheeled vehicle with operable pedals and a motor under 750 watts whose top speed on motor power alone, with a 170-pound rider, is under 20 mph (15 U.S.C. § 2085(b)). A different test from Florida's.

Insurance Terms

PIP (personal injury protection)

Florida no-fault benefits under Fla. Stat. § 627.736 — $10,000 in medical and disability benefits and $5,000 in death benefits, at 80% of reasonable medical expenses and 60% of lost gross income.

Self-propelled vehicle

Undefined in chapter 627, and the hinge of the whole e-bike coverage question. § 627.736(4)(e) pays benefits only to a person injured “while not an occupant of a self-propelled vehicle.”

Uninsured motorist (UM) coverage

Coverage that must be included on a Florida liability policy unless a named insured rejects it in writing on a form whose heading is in 12-point bold type (§ 627.727(1)).

Underinsured motorist (UIM)

The same coverage operating where the at-fault driver's limits are insufficient. § 627.727(3) describes when a vehicle counts as uninsured.

Permanent injury threshold

The limit in § 627.737(2) on recovering for pain and suffering: (a) significant and permanent loss of an important bodily function; (b) permanent injury other than scarring; (c) significant and permanent scarring or disfigurement; (d) death.

Civil remedy notice

The 60 days' written notice to the Department and the insurer required by § 624.155(3)(a) as a condition precedent to a statutory bad faith action.

Declarations page

The summary page of an insurance policy showing coverages and limits. Not a statutory term — but the first document to obtain after a crash.

Claims, Fault and Damages

Comparative negligence

Fault apportionment. Fla. Stat. § 768.81(2) reduces an award in proportion to the claimant's own share; § 768.81(6) bars recovery entirely by a party more than 50 percent at fault for their own harm.

Negligence action

Defined broadly at § 768.81(1) to include claims based on negligence, strict liability, products liability, professional malpractice and breach of warranty.

Products liability action

Also defined at § 768.81(1): a civil action based on strict liability, negligence, breach of warranty or nuisance theories for a defective product.

Economic damages

Defined at § 768.81(1) to include past and future lost income and loss of earning capacity, medical and funeral expenses, lost support, and replacement value of property.

Noneconomic damages

Pain, suffering, mental anguish and inconvenience — the categories § 627.737(2) restricts where the threshold applies.

Punitive damages

Damages to punish rather than compensate. § 768.72(1) permits no claim without “a reasonable showing by evidence,” and § 768.73(1) caps any award.

Dangerous instrumentality doctrine

A Florida common-law rule, not a statute, under which a vehicle's owner may be responsible for the negligence of a person they entrusted it to.

Accrual

When a cause of action arises, and when a limitations period starts. It is a legal question and is not automatically the date of the crash.

Legally Reviewed By

David I. Shiner, Esq.

Founder, Shiner Law Group · AV Preeminent® rated · Florida Bar member since 2002

David I. Shiner founded Shiner Law Group and has been a member of The Florida Bar since 2002. He is a graduate of Nova Southeastern University’s law school and holds an AV Preeminent® rating from Martindale-Hubbell. The firm represents injured people across Florida from offices in Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Pierce, Orlando, Wellington, and Belle Glade, and handles these cases on a contingency basis with free consultations and no attorney’s fee unless there is a recovery.

Content on this page legally reviewed by David I. Shiner, Esq. · Fla. Bar No. 572721 About this site →

Deadlines and Procedure

Statute of limitations

The period within which suit must be filed. Negligence: 2 years for causes of action accruing on or after March 24, 2023 (§ 95.11(5)(a)). Wrongful death: 2 years (§ 95.11(5)(e)).

Sovereign immunity

The rule that a government body cannot be sued except as the Legislature permits. § 768.28 is that permission, with caps of $200,000 per person and $300,000 per incident at § 768.28(5).

Presentment

The written claim that must be given to a government agency, and to the Department of Financial Services except for municipalities and counties, within 3 years (§ 768.28(6)(a)).

Condition precedent

Something that must happen before an action may be maintained. Presentment and denial are conditions precedent under § 768.28(6)(b) — but do not affect the accrual date.

Personal representative

The person who brings a wrongful death action, for the benefit of the survivors and the estate (§ 768.20).

Survivors

The decedent's spouse, children, parents, and dependent blood relatives and adoptive siblings (§ 768.18(1)). Note § 768.18(2): “minor children” means under 25.

Contingency fee

A fee payable out of a recovery. Governed in Florida by Rule 4-1.5 of the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar, which requires a written agreement. The terms that bind you are in the agreement you sign.

Crash and Injury Terms

Dooring

A crash caused by a vehicle door opened into a rider's path. Fla. Stat. § 316.2005 permits opening a door only when “reasonably safe to do so.” Not itself a statutory term.

Right hook

A driver overtaking a rider and then turning right across them. § 316.151(1)(a)2. permits the turn only if the bicycle is at least 20 feet from the intersection and the turn can safely be made.

Left cross

An oncoming driver turning left across a rider's path. § 316.122 requires them to yield to any vehicle approaching from the opposite direction.

Thermal runaway

A self-sustaining reaction inside a lithium-ion cell in which heat drives reactions producing more heat. A technical term, not a statutory one.

Degloving

An injury in which skin and underlying tissue are torn away from the structures beneath by shear force. A clinical term, not a statutory one.

Out-of-class

Not a statutory term. Practitioners' shorthand for a machine that fails one or more elements of § 316.003(23) and so is not an electric bicycle in Florida.

Frequently Asked Questions