Establishing more oversight over e-bikes, particularly among teenagers, continues to present challenges, with some local and state leaders proposing more regulations and others championing them as critical modes of transportation.
Cities like Half Moon Bay have already imposed some e-biking restrictions on local park trails, and Burlingame’s police chief raised the issue at the end of last year to the City Council. Last July, the San Mateo County Civil Grand Jury released a report asking cities to respond to safety concerns and policies regarding e-bikes. Most recently, Assembly Bill 2234 initially proposed an e-bike ban for those under 12 and additional training for those without a valid driver’s license, although the bill has since been relegated to San Diego County as a pilot program.
Much of the concern stems from a misunderstanding of road navigation, most common with underage riders, said Burlingame police Lt. David Perna, adding that law enforcement has seen heightened levels of incidents involving e-bike misuse over the past one to two years.
“It’s definitely been a concern for us,” Perna said. “When you have a license, it helps, because I think part of the problem is that kids don’t know the rules of the road … . I don’t want to say they’re motorcycles, but in a way, they are.”
There is also confusion around which types of e-bikes can be used on public sidewalks, such as downtown. Class 3 e-bikes are not typically allowed on sidewalks, although Perna said police officers and other residents have seen them throughout the area.
“They can be very dangerous, because they’re supposed to be for off-road use only. It’s essentially an electric dirt bike,” he said.
But with cities’ recent initiatives to improve road safety, coupled with pressure over reaching climate goals — thereby disincentivizing driving — stricter regulation of e-bikes could conflict with such plans. Heather Wolnick, community organizer of the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition, said restricting use, particularly among teens who have few transportation options, could lead to stymied progress on greenhouse gas emission efforts, not to mention de-prioritize investment for road improvements that make biking safer.
“I’ve been watching the e-bike regulations and bans and restrictions that have been proposed on the Peninsula, and it's a little concerning,” Wolnick said. “It’s frustrating as a bike advocate for people to talk about e-bike speed and not car speed, which kills so many more people.”
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Cities continue grappling with fatalities and serious injuries for both bikers and pedestrians. State data show that throughout the county, the number of bicycle fatalities between 2020 and 2023 is over twice as high than the four years prior. While some cities saw the number of bike injuries decrease between 2022 and 2023, others, like South City and East Palo Alto, have seen an upward trend, with the former experiencing nearly double the amount of injuries and fatalities in 2022 and 2023 than the two years prior.
But the extent to which e-bikes are involved is murky. Perna said he isn’t aware of their involvement in any recent serious collisions in Burlingame, and the San Mateo Police Department also said it hasn’t noticed an uptick in e-bike-related issues, particularly with adolescents.
But that doesn’t mean mandatory education and training wouldn’t come in handy and prevent future injuries, Perna added.
“There are some positives to having a child on an e-bike. It expands the range that they're able to ride, but it just needs to be done safely,” he said.
Wolnick agreed better education is not to be understated, but any potential legislation, such as Assembly Bill 2234, that requires youth to take classes not readily available to them, especially as they are not currently offered in most schools, is only going to encourage car use.
“Having roadway safety [education] in our school system would be amazing, but requiring it so that you have to do it before you get on a bike is not the way to do it ,” she said. “The real problems on our roadway are vehicular speed.”
It’s all fun and games until someone loses an eye, or much worse. Like it or not, e-bikes, like bikes and other forms of transportation are here to stay. Apparently, some locales are trying their best to protect eyes, or much worse, but should we continue having separate ordinances/policies per city? Why don’t we require all e-bike riders to carry insurance and to have functioning handlebar cameras that record their rides? If there are any losses of eyes or much worse, we can literally see who is at fault. If, for some reason, the camera doesn’t work, they’re automatically at fault. BTW, how can you tell if a youngster is under 12 if we can’t tell if car drivers have licenses?
E bikes ridden carelessly and without regard to safety are a hazard. Three BIS students rode by my house after school at what appeared excessive speed. They did a California stop at the two way stop signal without regard to incoming traffic. If 12 year olds are riding these ebikes then a required class, proof of passage and rider identification should be required before "children" ride them. Parents purchase them for their child and they should be accountable. And by the way, these boys are pretty nice kids.
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It’s all fun and games until someone loses an eye, or much worse. Like it or not, e-bikes, like bikes and other forms of transportation are here to stay. Apparently, some locales are trying their best to protect eyes, or much worse, but should we continue having separate ordinances/policies per city? Why don’t we require all e-bike riders to carry insurance and to have functioning handlebar cameras that record their rides? If there are any losses of eyes or much worse, we can literally see who is at fault. If, for some reason, the camera doesn’t work, they’re automatically at fault. BTW, how can you tell if a youngster is under 12 if we can’t tell if car drivers have licenses?
E bikes ridden carelessly and without regard to safety are a hazard. Three BIS students rode by my house after school at what appeared excessive speed. They did a California stop at the two way stop signal without regard to incoming traffic. If 12 year olds are riding these ebikes then a required class, proof of passage and rider identification should be required before "children" ride them. Parents purchase them for their child and they should be accountable. And by the way, these boys are pretty nice kids.
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Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
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