Too bad the use of a little motor on a bicycle is so restricted by law that the rider will feel like an outlaw and try to hide it from the police.
When I was living in Campbell county Virgina, the attitude of the local goverment was: Not over 50cc, ride safely and have fun. Like any other vehicle, bicycle to truck, if the rider or driver was being reckless then the police cracked down and righly so. This was 2008.
Here in California and sounds like in many other places, there are a lot of requirements that take the simple use out of motorized bicycles. Some of these quality road bikes with a rider in good shape will go as fast or at times faster than I do with a motorized bicycle. It is true, electric bikes are free from many of these requirments, but range limitations are too short for many users. 20 -25 mph limit, Gas or electric, what is wrong with that. A 16 year old in good condition with a quality road bike can do that, but if he runs a red light should get ticketed like anyone else. So, What about the not a 16 year old, but a hard working or retired adult trying to to avoid the high cost of transportation by auto, or heavy traffic jams on commute routes????
Motorized bicycles should be ENCOURAGE by state and local goverments, and not require a motorcycle license as an example. Sure, 16 years and older, required to obey established traffic laws (even pedestrians have them) and let the person ride his side of the road out of the traffic motorized bicycle. What is wrong with that.
Many of us have a motorcycle license as required in California, but I remenber as a kid back in the 40's using my bicycle on a paper route. There was a older fellow in his 20's or 30's who did not have ability to drive a car (mentally slow), but used a Whizzer motorized bicycle on his very large paper route. He did very well on his Whizzer and made enough on the paper route to be independent. It worked O.K. then and why not now. That was in Oakland California, 1947.