Ah - the beauty of the "free market." Everybody gets to buy whatever they want and use it whatever way they want to.

Touch screens in the front dash of new cars - great idea? 500-watt portable boom-box speakers to share your "music" in the wide open spaces - great idea?

Aw never-mind - no one a gives a sh*** - turn on your 2000 lumen blinky and plug up your ears with ear-buds so you can bomb down the bike path at 40kph. Money dictates who the cool people are.........

We have the rules; we just need the enforcement. (Chicago)

Same in socal, although reportedly a teenager on an "e-moto" seriously injured a hiker on a path a few days ago and another was killed on an e-scooter, so no telling what the knee jerk reaction might be. It would be interesting if anybody who resides in an area that is policed would report.

Ten year-old, on an e-bike, riding on the wrong side of the road... sheesh.

Looks like Orange County is getting with the program:
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...6405c0128.jpeg

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/w...-b2963604.html

Also:
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...bf435f874.jpeg
https://ktla.com/video/orange-county...dents/11724217

From the article! So not at all an e-bike not even related (aside from having two wheels) it was a motorcycle and the kid was being an idiot. Both the parent and the child should face punishment that is clear but WE need to make sure we are not posting such slop all the time.

They can call it "independent" journalism but when they post such sloppy terrible headlines that you would find in fake ads and clickbait sites it doesn't do well for your journalism when you contradict yourself in the dang article. E-motorcycles are not electric bikes. Electric bikes have no throttles and are moved forward with purely pedaling (even if assisted).

Those riding the e-motorcycles should be required to have licenses and take a motorcycle safety course and it needs to be very clear that these are not e-bike related in any sense and should have no bearing on bicycles in any way. If you are doing wheelies in the streets or sidewalks just confiscate the dang things and donate them to low income people in need of transportation to their jobs (and give them a safety lesson as well). Fine the parents and use those funds for better bike lanes and better education or to help end homelessness or something.

Thanks for pointing out the fact that it was an e-motorcycle. The Independent was actually a repost of the original article that was on ABC7. I think the article is worth sharing though for the point that OC prosecutors are actually doing something about kids wilding on e-motorcycles and e-bikes.

I'm not sure what to call it since Surons don't have VIN's so can't be "motorcycles". It's in a no man's land where the only place it's legal is private property AFAIK (maybe ATV areas). Too bad they can't jail the manufacturer for making an illegal vehicle and the store that sold it too IMO.

A Surron and similar type vehicles fit the description of a motorcycle, an inline two wheeled vehicle powered soley by a motor (either internal combustion or electric) so no pedals only a throttle. A VIN doesn't really matter as it probably has a serial number which is in essence the same thing but does not define a motorcycle.

This is not quite right. A VIN is a standardized 17-digit number that contains specific information about a vehicle’s make, model, and year. It ALSO contains a serial number. A serial number alone isn’t enough to register a vehicle.

If mfrs. of eMopeds would also give them VINs, (optional to use, if they also fit the legal description of “eBike”) they’d be doing us a favor. They’d also need a certificate of origin, DOT lighting, brakes, license plate holder, etc., so they’d need to be more expensive.

I believe it’s coming though!

It's worth pointing out that you can't register a motorcycle, a car, an e-motorcycle or anything else, without a VIN. Technically, you might be able to (by getting a VIN issued by the DMV), but this is a rare, complex, difficult, time consuming, and expensive process. The DMV will assume it has a VIN somewhere you didn't spot and also that the vehicle is stolen. If you pass these two hurdles, I suppose you next have to convince them that your vehicle is safe and roadworthy. All the burden is on you.

It appears as though the "e" menace will be alleviated in some socal communities since some school districts are allowing only pedal bikes for middle or lower school students. I hope this trend becomes universal, and wouldn't mind if the high schools joined the party. There are also a couple of bills in Congress that will further restrict "e" activity, one which reduces top speed to 16 mph and another that reduces power from 750w max to 250. Of course there's nothing that discusses policing which currently is non-existent unless someone is seriously injured or killed.

Watched some young kids pulling a wagon down the sidewalk with an electric scooter. They're having fun. It's just as safe as if they were pulling with a bike, But the burgers here in burgerville made it illegal, I disagree.

Then you got mom and dad walking the park trail with the little guys on small scooters in front. Also a crime here.

We do have a lot of teens on 20" ebikes. Many are under 16 and they will be illegal on July 1 in my town, My feeling is if they're under 15 mph, it's fine,

Under 16 needs regulation... Otherwise GTFOH!!!

True a VIN is more but in terms of the e-motorcycles they are motorcycles and a VIN does not define a motorcycle. I would be happy if e-motorcycles and e-mopeds were classed with VINs and need all the appropriate DOT stuff. that would be great. I don't care if you slap a tourney derailleur on it make them either safer or harder to get.

Right now around me it is delivery people who have these ridiculous e-mopeds and are just tearing up sidewalks and streets and constantly breaking down and not wearing helmets (by in large though some actually do have motorcycle helmets (not sure if DOT approved) and are just a nuisance. Same thing with the gas powered crap but for the most part those people keep off the sidewalks.
I am not totally innocent as sometimes I will do a slight cut onto the sidewalk but I go slow behind people and make sure to leave lots of room and I am actually pedaling and I generally am on it for a very short time to avoid some major traffic or the car haulers that park in the street.

IMO, any law(s) that gets kids under 16 on pedal bikes (or "push" scooters) is a good one. We're the fattest country in the world (AFAIK); let's trim down.

We're up there, but we're not #1.
https://data.worldobesity.org/rankings/?age=a&sex=t

Thanks for the link. We better get moving 'er eating if we want to be #1.

The law should be if you’re under 17, no ebike without parents consent - even then no surron or an e moto bike

E-bikes arent the menace. MAMILS have been replaced by pre-teens who have no clue about traffic laws. Municipalities around me are finally taking action BUT they are drafting legislation instead of enforcing existing law!!

Part 2 is they identify high powered e-motorcycles as e-bikes. Since there are no rules for those devices, law enforcement can do whatever they want. Luckily they typically call them mopeds and since no rules were followed, they can load them up for a trip to the impound yard.

Many fun things become a problem when their popularity outgrows safety rules and sense of rules. Think back to the 80's when 3 wheel ATVS were suddenly banned.

In my area state police are non existent - even then they are fearful of chasing a teen on an ebike or e moto because if the child crashes during the pursuit, the police don’t want the liability

i agree that the laws proposed lump all of this into one category - it is up to us to stop the ignorance as no one has consulted people who know ebikes

In socal an 81 year old Viet Nam veteran, put in the hospital by a kid supposedly doing wheelies on a Surron, just died which is a tragedy and I sympathize with the family, but expect some knee jerk reaction by the police or legislators. Also, a 1.3 mil+ house in Tustin,CA (next street over from my friend) just became a complete loss and I wonder if the insurance companies will react.

There are the kids doing 25 on e-scooters on the sidewalks blowing past cross-streets on the wrong side of the road. Lots of people will get injured or die before the laws get ironed out.

the laws already exist for things like this, they just aren't being enforced, for reasons that probably vary from place to place.

we have had scooters and ebikes in very large quantities on the roads here for a long time, and i find it hard to get worked up about them when 400+ pedestrians and cyclists have been killed by automobile drivers in the last 20 years (within city limits), including two people i knew personally. i don't think much priority should be given to bikes, e-bikes, and scooters breaking the law until the much bigger issues are addressed. i'd make an exception to that for children, but go after the parents.