Ebike Laws/requirments

Orange_R said:
This! The kids in our neighborhood ride wheelies and chit all though the streets and don't give an eff where they are. They're been a couple times with when they ventured out in front of me on the main road and were almost wearing a 37" tire tread. 
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Yup that’s a class 3. I think they do 35mph

 
High Sierra Dad said:
We did 35 - 40 mph on our pedal BMX bikes when I was in middle school. We had people pull over in their cars when we got to our destination and tell us how crazy we were to hit those speeds on a bike, without a helmet. Kids these days are pussies.
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100%

Especially boys, we don't let them do dangerous stuff in a careful manner. We keep them from even doing anything at all.

Again I'm surprised at some of the comments here. I'd live to see more kids out doing stuff....I guess I moved to a sleepy old person city...hahaha.

 
Cookie said:
 Beach communities have their work cut out for them.
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Truth.  It's gotten way out of hand already and it's a little extra as the kids around here all have a sense of entitlement due to where they live although from the posts above it seems to be an issue everywhere.

P.S.  There are WAY more e bikes on the road now than there where mopeds from back in the day

 
We recently bought a couple of them, actual ebikes, with pedals.  My daughter and I have been having a great time on them.  We basically treat them like regular bikes, ride in the bike lanes and wear bike helmets.  So far no hassles and I don't see us causing anybody else any issues either.  The bikes were delivered as class 2 bikes, but we immediately made a menu setting change and they can do about 28 mph or so.  Most of the time we are cruising closer to 20 mph.  Like I said, so far I don't see the problem and they've been good for us.  Maybe it's not an ebike issue and more of a people-being-a$$holes issue.

 
kazuaki said:
We recently bought a couple of them, actual ebikes, with pedals.  My daughter and I have been having a great time on them.  We basically treat them like regular bikes, ride in the bike lanes and wear bike helmets.  So far no hassles and I don't see us causing anybody else any issues either.  The bikes were delivered as class 2 bikes, but we immediately made a menu setting change and they can do about 28 mph or so.  Most of the time we are cruising closer to 20 mph.  Like I said, so far I don't see the problem and they've been good for us.  Maybe it's not an ebike issue and more of a people-being-a$$holes issue.
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This is true, but IMO, 20 mph is too fast for most people on an e bike, depending upon where you live and ride of course.  In the cycling world, only very strong cyclists are able to push 20 mph for long periods of time and now anyone with a credit card can join in on that fun without having to put in the work to achieve that level.

I've checked a bunch of them out and I don't even get the design philosophy behind most of them.  They tend to be super heavy due to the battery, made in China with cheap parts and chitty brakes, which didn't inspire a lot of confidence to me.

When the pandemic hit, e bike sales exploded and the demand hasn't dwindled. If it gets you out of the house and outside and if you use them instead of taking yore car everywhere, I'm stoked for you.  But at this point, they've become the SXS of cycling with every Tom pee pee and Henrieta out there, most of whom haven't ridden a regular bike in years suddenly able to move along at 20+ in a bike lane where regular bikes are usually cruising at half that speed.  Not good

 
Cookie said:
In my community Super 73's are the bike of choice, we see 10yr's cruising the streets at over 20mph not wearing helmets and don't know the rules of the road.  It will be sad when a real accident does happen.
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Yeah, those are everywhere and they remind me of 70's Huffys, the bike that no self respecting kid would be seen on:

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I have a lot to say about e-bikes but I’ll keep it short-ish. As active LE and currently an accident investigator (major injury and fatal) my work load has exponentially increased with the surge in e-bikes. However, I’m not against them and have one. 
 

The number one problem is parents, they don’t teach rules of the road. 
 

class 2 is the most common, no license required and only need a helmet under 18. 
 

class 3, you must be at least 16 and helmet required regardless of age  

Sur Ron - not street legal and not a bicycle per the law. Can be made street legal with correct equipment but requires registration. These riders run all the time when stopped. When they do stop, we can cite for unregistered vehicle, no insurance, no MC endorsement and can and do impound. 
 

Biggest challenge for LE is most kids ridding are young and case law doesn’t allow a ticket for kids under 14. 
 

My city passed a municipal code last year specifically for e-bikes. When cited, it allows for kids to take a FREE online safety course instead of a fine. MOST PARENTS pay the fine because they think it’s unfair to force their kids to take the class. 

 
Bansh88 said:
I'm still wondering why a D-bag (or 50) on a bicycle can weave back and forth at .5 miles an hour, blocking hazardous mountain roads but I can't cruise my 70 through town.
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Hazardous 55mph mountain roads with zero shoulder whatsoever. 

 
Spent last week in Vail Colorado and got my first taste of a Ebike of any kind. It was the pedal assist type and made riding along the 20 some miles of bike trail  we explored very enjoyable.  I could also see where it could get you in trouble fast.  They have area's where they ask you to slow and others where you must walk. 

While my B-I-L and I were out exploring on the Ebikes my sister was approached by a lady to sign a petition to enforce a  speed limit on all multi use trails/ paths in the area's.

She told her "Sorry Karen I don't live in this state" . Her response was that they wanted to have visitors as well sign and that her name wasn't Karen.  My sister replied "I know" and walked off.  

 
, it would prohibit people under 12 years old to ride e-bikes, it would require an online written test and a state-issued identification for riders who do not have a driver’s license.

I do know it is hard to write tickets to kids, but I am sure there would be a way.  Calling the parents to come pick up the child would probably be better.  The parents nowadays just pay the ticket and move on.

 
Bobalos said:
can you write a kid a ticket???

is liability insurance next?
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Yep, got two of them while being a kid.

First one crossing Fletcher Parkway by the bowling alley outside of a crosswalk. Wrote us up for jaywalking. Judge thru it out at court but I was grounded for a week and lost my allowance for a month

Second one was  crossing against a red light ... Again on Fletcher Parkway :lol:   i was on my bike going northbound on the east side of Jackson, thought the cars going left from Fletcher had the green light so I was riding out to the center island. My mistake it was the cars turning left From Jackson onto Fletcher. Car came around probably pushing the light hit the pre-anti-lock brakes up I turned around ass end of the car got my back tire sending me flying and she ended up on the center island where the left turn signal once stood.

For the next three and a half years anytime we drove by that intersection my old man would tell anybody who was in the car "See that light, that one is mine, well at least in another 30 payments" 

I was 13ish at the time. Don't remember going to court the second time only remember having that bent rear rim on that bike for at least until I started High School

 
I saw an IG post from some tourist who rented sit down scooters for he and his wife.  Said they could hit 40 mph.  Of course they immediately took them on the bike path on the beach that is only meant for actual pedal bikes (no pedal assist allowed but as long as yore not being a McPenis nobody cares). They were Mcpenis' and got cited .  . .

 
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