Marin Voice: High school students call for more e-bike safety regulations

In recent years, motorized electric bicycles have found their way into the garages of many Marin residents. E-bikes gained massive traction among the younger population, as they are commonly used to get to and from school.

Our issue is not necessarily with e-bikes, but with young e-bikers who need to be made aware of the rules of roads and sidewalks. While they provide an efficient mode of transportation, they also pose a significant threat to the community’s safety.

According to a U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission report, roughly 36% of e-bike injuries occurred in children 14 years old and younger. These vehicles resemble modern motorcycles, as most have a throttle that provides a speedy boost without requiring pedaling. Although they can’t reach the maximum speed of motorcycles, they can still reach dangerous speeds that regular bikes usually do not.

Many high and middle school students utilize e-bikes to get to and from school. Having so many newly licensed drivers on the roads surrounding schools can be dangerous enough as it is. There are extreme risks for the riders, the unknowing or newly licensed drivers, and the general community.

While the problem is not necessarily the fault of young e-bikers, the danger that results from their lack of knowledge is unacceptable. The commission’s safety report states that more than 360,000 emergency department visits were related to e-bikes, e-scooters and hoverboards between 2017 and 2022. This number is so substantial due to a lack of regulations on the road and training of e-bikers.

These undercover motorcycles give false confidence to e-bikers to ride dangerously and beyond their skill level. There are no age restrictions on class 1 and 2 e-bikes with a maximum speed of 20 mph. To operate a class 3 e-bike, which can go as fast as 28 mph, drivers must be at least 16.

The age requirement to obtain a driver’s license in California is 16, which is strictly enforced. However, there is little regulation on the age restrictions for e-bikers. Moreover, anyone driving a vehicle knows that 20 mph is quite fast, and careful control is crucial to maneuver an 80-pound vehicle through busy roads. E-bikes in California are treated like regular bikes and are exempt from laws and requirements that apply to motorcycles and automobiles.

As high school students, we are part of a group that includes many recently licensed teen drivers. All of us have seen an abnormal amount of young e-bikers taking risks that drivers would not. Many of us have had close calls with unsafe e-bike riders.

There are particular rules for the road, and they must be adhered to by all who use it. Like motorcycle riders, e-bikers have much more mobility. They have the ability to weave around cars, take shortcuts and deftly ignore stopping or turning rules.

Top e-bike speeds range from 15.5 mph to 28 mph, and they can go even faster with harder pedaling. This beats the average speed of a nonmotorized bike and should be considered much too fast for pedestrian paths or sidewalks. The community is forced to live in dangerous conditions if e-bikes are ridden recklessly on roads and too quickly on pedestrian walkways. As e-bikes are efficient and environmentally friendly, this raises the question of how the current dangerous situation can be improved without banning e-bikes.

This question warrants many solutions that can help reduce the risk of e-bikes to the community. A possible solution to the issue of accommodating e-bikers is to equip riders with the necessary skills to navigate both pedestrian paths and roads.

Rather than forcing them to choose between the two, we can prepare them to face the environmental challenges of both options. Parents and local law enforcement must take responsibility for ensuring that e-bikers who ride on the street are at least 16 years old. Keeping the roads and children safe should be their No. 1 priority. However, there should be a speed restriction for e-bikers on pedestrian paths, like the Corte Madera Creek Path, with a constant flow of activity. That, too, should be enforced.

Electric bikes have transformed transportation, providing a more eco-friendly and accessible short-distance option. However, extreme measures need to be implemented to maintain community safety.

Jace Harms and Isabelle Davis are students at Redwood High School in Larkspur.