The MOVE Act would direct the U.S. Department of Transportation, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), to study how micromobility technologies and other high-speed personal transportation devices affect injuries and deaths, with particular attention to children and young adults. The study would review crash data, including device type, speed, roadway infrastructure, and whether motor vehicles were involved. Based on those findings, NHTSA would be required to develop best practices and a public education program for nonmotorized road users on how to safely interact with these devices and navigate streets.
The bill also requires the education program to include consumer-facing information about device speed, whether a device is designed to be modified to exceed 20 miles per hour, whether it qualifies as a class 1 or class 2 electric bicycle, and what state laws may apply to age, helmet use, insurance, and registration. In addition, the bill amends the federal highway safety program statute to explicitly include nonmotorized road user safety related to emerging micromobility issues as a national priority safety program area.
If enacted, the bill would not directly create new federal operating rules for e-bikes, scooters, or similar devices, but it would expand federal research, education, and safety-priority authority in the highway safety framework. It would require NHTSA to gather and analyze crash data on micromobility and high-speed personal transportation devices and to produce guidance that could influence state, local, and public safety practices. The bill would also amend title 23 of the U.S. Code to add emerging micromobility issues to the list of national priority safety programs, potentially affecting how federal highway safety grant and education efforts are directed.
The available record suggests generally supportive, safety-focused sentiment around the bill, with the measure framed as a response to rising micromobility use and concerns about vulnerable road users. The findings emphasize that vulnerable road users account for a disproportionate share of highway deaths and injuries and that little is known about the safety impacts of micromobility technologies. No committee transcript or vote data is available, so there is no recorded floor or committee debate to indicate broader partisan or stakeholder sentiment.
The main potential points of contention are likely to be the bill’s treatment of high-speed personal transportation devices, the scope of federal involvement in an area often governed by state and local law, and the inclusion of consumer information about whether devices can be modified to exceed 20 miles per hour. The bill also highlights state rules on age, helmets, insurance, and registration, which could raise concerns among device users, manufacturers, and states about regulatory consistency and enforcement. Because no committee discussion or votes are provided, specific objections or supporters cannot be identified from the record.