The Press Democrat published an article today about teens’ irresponsible use of e-bikes and e-scooters, quoting local residents, police officers, and crash statistics. However, the article is missing some very important information.
The California Vehicle Code requires that electric bicycle motors have no more than 750 watts of power. Any two-wheeled electric vehicle with more power IS NOT A BICYCLE, whether it has pedals or not.
Unfortunately, there are unscrupulous manufacturers selling much more powerful devices and calling them e-bikes; additionally, some users hack what started out as a legal e-bike to go faster. The general public, including some law enforcement officers, are unaware of the differences and refer to ALL two-wheeled electric devices as e-bikes…and may purchase devices they believe are legal e-bikes when they are not.
For example, the article states that “two Petaluma teens were injured when they lost control while attempting to perform a wheelie on an e-bike…The teens were cited for operating motorized vehicles without a license and failing to provide proof of insurance.” Given what they were cited for, they were clearly riding e-motos, NOT e-bikes.
For this reason, any statistics about e-bike collisions and injuries are inaccurate, because many (if not most) actually involve e-motos.
Many jurisdictions have sought to legislate the “problem” away, but most of the proposals don’t touch the real problem of e-motos masquerading as bicycles.
The California Bicycle Coalition, PeopleForBikes, Streets For All, and Streets Are For Everyone have sponsored SB 1167, introduced by Senator Catherine Blakespear, which addresses this directly. In addition to clarifying the definition of e-bikes, the bill will crack down on deceptive marketing, making it illegal to advertise or sell electric motorcycles, mopeds, or other higher-powered vehicles as electric bicycles. It also imposes penalties for false advertising.
Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition supports the responsible use of e-bikes (I ride one myself!) while discouraging their use by children. We support SB 1167, as well as enforcement of existing laws regarding e-motos and e-scooters. You can find more information about e-bikes on our website here.