California City Officials Cracking Down on Young E-Bike Riders by Fining Their Parents
City officials in Irvine, Calif., could soon join several other towns in holding parents of e-bike riders responsible for their kids’ reckless behavior. The potential new regulations are being prompted by numerous collisions and instances of excessive speed among teenagers and other young e-bike riders.
The growing use of e-bikes and similar scooters, while convenient and beneficial for the environment, has also created what some call a new threat to public safety. Numerous residents and elected officials in Orange County, Calif., are now calling for tighter restrictions on e-bikes.
The proliferation of e-bikes has led to a new need for regulation
According to Voice of the OC, residents say teenagers and other young riders endanger themselves and others by recklessly riding e-bikes on roadways, sidewalks, and bike paths. More than half of the county’s cities have adopted some form of regulation.
Now, Irvine and other towns are looking to tighten these ordinances even further. The Voice of OC reports that the city may soon hold parents responsible for their kids’ reckless e-bike riding through citations and fines. Violations could soon be classified as misdemeanors. Habitually reckless riders could also face $500 fines after multiple violations.
“This has been long-awaited,” Councilmember Melinda Liu said. “We get so many emails and meeting requests about this issue all the time.”
Repeat offenders will face significant punishment
The city is also considering several other forms of regulation, including updated speed limits on sidewalks and trails. They also want to legally prohibit modifications to make them faster and allow city police officers to impound them.
“Discretion is going to depend on the circumstances of the situation — how compliant the juvenile is when they’re being detained or stopped for the violation, what the violation is, how egregious is it, are their parents or guardian able to respond to pick up their electric bicycle,” said Shaheen Jahangard, lieutenant with Irvine Police Department’s traffic bureau. “There’s a lot of factors the officers will take into consideration before impounding an e-bike.”
The hope is that these new regulations will reduce accidents. Jahangard said that over the last three years, about 70% of the city’s bicycle collisions involved a juvenile rider. Of those collisions, about 65% involved an e-bike. He also said that the 13- to 16-year-old age range accounts for 53% of all bicycle collisions. Of those, 69% involved an e-bike.
