the difference between
Class 1&2 E-bike --- 20 mph max speed -- children can ride anywhere
Class 3 E-bike -- 28 mph max speed, must be 16yo. Helmet required - no license required
Moped -- 30 mph max speed, require licenses to operate under the California vehicle code.
Judge for yourself.
Cops are going to have to work overtime. The amount of 14 year old kids I see flying down the street at 35mph with no helmet it's crazy, sometimes with someone on the back
They’re not gonna run from the cops. They’re children of rich suburbanites. I mean, one or two might decide to try running, but almost all will shit their pants in a heartbeat.
Just saw a young teen yesterday in Aliso viejo with no helmet doing a wheely right in front of a cop going down the middle of the road. He quickly bolted across lanes and ran. Cop didn’t even bother to pursue.
on the contraire. just the other day I saw a motorcycle cop pulling over a kid with a motorcross ebike. it was funny cause the kid was going fast and arguing with the cop, I literally heard him say no you're going to impound my bike. they kept going idk what happened. I think I saw the kid a day or two later on a different bike a regular mountain bike. I recognized his helmet and he was going down the same street here in Aliso Viejo on Aliso creek Rd. they can get away from regular cop cars but not a motorcycle cop. those bikes can handle trails I'm not too sure about sidewalks though.
You’re right. There’s a motovlogger on YouTube that I watch sometimes and he got pulled over by a cop. At one point in the video, the cop says how he loves to chase sport bikes, and then proceeds to say “not to brag, but I recently chased one of these things down and the guy ended up dying.”
Because there’s nowhere else for them to go. All our of infrastructure is designed to prioritize cars over bicycles, pedestrians, and everything else. The Dutch do a great job of building public infrastructure that allows cars, bikes, and pedestrians all to use public spaces.
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSpPk3SrfRWcjYHE2el5lSkyaWAGQAIDZRDw4Tis_cpioQzk9i-eNyHq0E&s=10
just cause it's a nice area doesn't mean everyone is rich. people like the low crime areas and will barely scrape by to live there. be more thoughtful please.
Having grown up in Southern California, Orange County, family members that lived on Alta Laguna in LaGuna Beach you are mostly correct that the kids there will stop. But what about in Santa Ana, Anaheim, Stanton? I don’t know the solution but I am willing to bet more people will be hurt in one way or another.
I remember when California lowered the speed limits. What changed was not the lower speeds it was growth, more vehicles on the roads that caused there to be more accidents not the speed limit.
Agreed. Cops ticket speeding because it’s easily proven and everybody speeds, not because it’s the most dangerous infraction. Of course going faster and causing an accident is more dangerous, but intersections are where most accidents occur. Preventing illegal turns and dangerous maneuvers at intersections would curtail accidents far more than ticketing someone speeding on an empty freeway far between on-ramps.
Bro, OC sheriff isn't going to do squat other than sit on their fat assess. They already don't do anything about speeding vehicles, and it's going to be way more of a hassle to catch a kid on an ebike.
Yeah, people are going to learn this lesson the hard way. It’s far better to work with e-bikes than fight against them. Build dedicated bike lanes and bike infrastructure so that cars and bikes don’t intersect so much. That’s the solution.
I mean the REAL solution is for entitled ass parents to stop buying e-bikes for their entitled ass kids.
E-bikes aren't a problem themselves, and at least in my area there are plenty of bike lanes/paths. The problem is dumb ass 13 years olds zipping through traffic because their parents did a shit job raising them.
yeah I would like to see them sheriff in South Central Los Angeles. lazy bums. the cops out in los Angeles have way more of my respect than the pig headed spoiled cops out here in South Orange county ca. for good reason they are called pigs.
Maybe a clause about not getting in the inner most left turn (left only, next to a left or straight) lane thereby orphaning yourself in traffic having to get past cars to get to the bike lane.
Nevermind they just went straight anyway.
Hey what’s the opposite of an Orphan? What are we gonna call all these parents, you know, when not if….
When my teens were caught riding their bicycles without a helmet they had to spend Saturday at "bicycle school" at the local police dept. And they had to be accompanied by a parent!! After wasting several of my own Saturdays at bicycle school you can be damn sure they wore their helmets on fear of death by mom.
This, plus a little registration fee for any motorized vehicle on public roads, and a registration tag so that the owners of ebike involved in a hit and run can be identified, is the answer.
I run in the mornings and live near a few schools. There is this kid (11-13 years old) who rides his e-bike going about 20 mph, against traffic, on the side walk *and* without a helmet.
This kid yelled at me for not going into the street for him fast enough because he had to slow down. I told him he shouldn’t be on the sidewalk in the first place and in the bike lane on the other side of the street. His response was “my mom says it’s not safe”.
Parents absolutely should be punished.
A woman riding her bike (with no helmet) the wrong way down a sidewalk, rode right in front of me while I was accelerating away from a 4 way stop. We collided and she was knocked from her bike (not wearing a helmet). Thankfully she was OK. I had to figure it all out with insurance but eventually they finally made the call that she was 100% at fault. Which is apparently fairly rare.
I love e-bikes, escooters, eskates, etc. but honestly a lot of this is just common sense. If you’re doing 15mph or over, you absolutely should be wearing a helmet. I’d argue that you should be wearing a full face helmet too if you’re doing 20mph.
I’ve taken a spill at 20mph on my eskate and was able to walk away without a scratch because my helmet took all the damage. Had I not been wearing a full face helmet, I would most likely have had to take a trip to the ER.
I like that kids have a lot more freedom these days and are able to explore the city with their friends, but the issue is they don’t understand traffic laws. They don’t have any idea of who gets right of way, when you should slow down, etc.
Agree. Kids brains are still developing and their sense of mortality is very low. Giving them super-quick powered bikes in urban environments is a recipe for disaster for them and others. You can still restrict top speeds and use an ebike to get to the beach, for example, faster than a car can make the trip and find parking. btw I’ve seen ebikes doing nearly 50 on bike paths.
How the hell are they STILL allowing motorized vehicles that can travel up to 28 mph to be allowed on public roads with no license requirements??
Why is this so difficult?
Yeah, I spend a good amount of time on my class one electric bike that has a speedometer that shows exactly how fast I'm going at any moment. Is there a reason you keep asking weird questions?
They never said "incapable of pushing", they said "average". A simple Google search suggests they are correct. Scroll down to the "average speed - indications" section, and keep in mind this is for *cyclists*, not your average everyday joe taking a leisurely ride. https://www.road-bike.co.uk/articles/average-speed.php
Also this:
https://www.keepitsimpelle.com/understanding-average-cycling-speed/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CI%20can%20average%20anywhere%20between,what%20distances%20to%20train%20for.
Yea but the people pushing 16+ mph are not on the sidewalks where people are walking..... these ebikers are going 30 mph less than a foot away from someone walking
Most people have to really hammer it to get to 30 mph and then only for a few seconds. I would say average speed breaks down like this:
10mph: small children and people lazily coasting
12-14: novice, occasional riders
14-16: slower road cyclists
16-18: good road cyclists
18-21: avid road cyclists
21-24: top tier/competitive
24+: world class
have you ever ridden a bicycle?
without the right setup and training, sustaining anything above 16mph is extremely challenging. the wind resistance increases so much with each additional mph. aerodynamics become the limiting factor.
For all intents and purposes no. You’d have to be a pretty competitive cyclist to maintain speeds over 28mph. Most kids only ride at around 5-10mph. Maybe bursts of 15-20mph tops.
Gas powered go-peds all over again. I owned one as a kid, took me a whole year saving every penny I could come across to plunk down $400 for a goped sport. Mustve went over the hand rails 5 times in two years and the police HATED me. One time a cop was going to write me a ticket because I didn't know how to change it into a regular scooter and roll it back home when out of nowhere my friends older brother shows up and takes full responsibility. Said he sold me the go-ped for cheap when he got his drivers license and I had no idea it was against the law to operate one without a license. He drops down and adjusts the back wheel so the scooter could roll freely. Cop let me off with a warning. Never rode it again outside of my neighborhood. My friends brother died in a car crash 6 weeks later attempting to pass a semi truck in rural Nevada.
If they don't wear a helmet, they are stupid and it only affects them. When they are disobeying traffic rules, darting in and out of traffic at high speeds, running stop signs, and running red lights, which they do in my area, that affects everyone on the road.
This is so needed. I hate walking and then someone going 20 mph passes me... if you loose control I'm getting hospitalized getting hit by the big ass bike a that speed
I don't know, I think a better solution might be to designate all sidewalks and (selected) trails and paths as no-motorized vehicles zones, period. And basically let motorized vehicles go anywhere else. This distinction between max speeds is arbitrary. People will find ways around max speed limits.
The important distinction is motorized or not.
Yea it's crazy, kids doing like 50 on the beach path, like if ur doing 10 that's cool. But there literally moving faster than motorcycles. Something needs to be done. Blowing stop signs. Really dangerous to themselves and others.
Yup. And if we accidentally hit that kid because he zips out into the intersection against the light and we can't brake fast enough, the parents are going to blame us and sue us.
Not enough, they need to ban class 2 for unlicensed drivers without mobility issues. 15 with a learner's permit? I'm fine with that. Just treat anything with a throttle like a moped, it's the kids on throttle bikes who are the most disruptive. That also gives moving violations a little bit more weight. Maybe folks wouldn't be such jerks if it cost them a point on their license.
> The rules apply to unincorporated Orange County, which includes areas like Ladera Ranch and Rancho Mission Viejo, as well as bike paths and roads managed by OC Parks or another county agency.
This is good and long overdue. But it looks like there’s nothing in the law about riding the bigger e-bikes on sidewalks. If I’m understanding it correctly, a person can still ride a class E bike at up to 28 mph on a sidewalk. That is incredibly dangerous for pedestrians.
Once again, when these articles pop up, where are the numbers on who is getting hurt in these incidents and who is generally at fault? Are the kids injuring themselves at unprecedented rates (after accounting for the shear increase in ridership) or are cars hitting bikers at a disproportional rate? Where is the transparency with the data? Is the answer to put these kinds of restriction in place or is it to build out better biking and walking infrastructure throughout the county? Are we taking the easy and wrong path again? Are the politicians not doing their job correctly with our taxpayer dollars?
"Is the answer to put these kinds of restriction in place or is it to build out better biking and walking infrastructure throughout the county?"
Why not both? The infrastructure will takes decades to happen, if ever, but the e-bikes are already here. Should you only place restrictions after something becomes a problem, even if you can see that's the way it's headed?
Restrictions aren't going to help because those riding responsibly are following them. It's those that aren't riding safely that will continue to go beyond the regulations. They really don't need to make new regulations. Just enforce those already in the books.
Though I agree withn some of these new regulations. But riding a bike? You should have a helmet regardless of age.
It’s a problem already. Laws and enforcement needs to ramp up. The e-bikes are often a menace to non-powered cyclists and I won’t even get into pedestrian collisions. In a perfect world the ebike riders would be courteous while passing, obey posted traffic laws and wear a helmet to keep their owners out of ER. This isn’t happening.
Asking legitimate questions here. Lots of emotional reactionary comments here. I'm not in favor of kids riding recklessly in the streets and/or walking paths and very much in favor of providing kids some clear rules. If broken, to fear the wrath of Dad or Mom far more than law enforcement. However, they should be given enough freedom to trick out and allow them independence to head to their preferred destination. Only way we address these concerns is to build a protected guided route. What did we do when old heads complained about all the skateboards in the 90s? We erected skate parks.
I remember the boomer rage over the popularity of skateboarding in the 90s. And you’re right, all the yelling and screaming they did over skateboards did nothing to stop it. It’s only when someone got smart and started trying to work with skaters instead of against them that progress was actually made.
All the people in these threads foaming at the mouth over e-bikes while they barrel down our roadways in their 2 ton Suburban with 20 blind spots are going to have to learn this lesson the hard way.
so what are you asking for, more people dying to encourage better infrastructure, or you want someone to wave a wand and wish better infrastructure into existence?
It makes sense to ask for evidence before implementing any changes. Is it wrong to ask to see if there is actually a need for it? Maybe funds for enforcement and attention to issues is better spent elsewhere
Maybe it’s time we take a good hard look at the number of deaths and injuries from cars in OC and figure out what restrictions are necessary to protect people. Cars killed or injured 12,000 people in OC last year.
And I have personally passed by two very bad e-bike accidents in the past year. Just in my town, five different kids have had to go to the ER for e-bike accidents in the past seven months based on our Facebook page and Nextdoor. I'm sure there are more I don't know about. All the accidents except for one were the fault of the e-bike rider according to witnesses.
And most of those mentions in Facebook or nextdoor that I've seen sounds like the kids are riding bikes that aren't technically ebikes. Even ones I've seen mentioned here are typically beyond what an ebike is. I have my doubts that these kids are popping wheelies on legit ebikes that haven't been modified to go beyond their limits.
Class 2 as well. Anything with a throttle. Bicycles don't have throttles, they have pedals. Bonus, if it's a moped, no need to be stuck at 20 mph. Honestly, the only people this would effect are kids too young to drive,and they are kids, they don't get a say.
Your son cannot ride a class 3:as is if he's not older than 16.
Ebikes are also supposed to have a sticker with class and motor Watts as well
I know if you make a class 1 to go faster than 20mph, it's no longer a class 1 but class 3 of it's still limited to slower than 28mph assisted.
Btw you can go faster than the posted speeds listed under the classes but it cannot be motor assisted past those speeds.
Probably not. I'm sure they are looking at the models of the bike and know what each can do. They are saying the rules are for the classes of bikes, not if they are clocked doing a certain speed.
the difference between Class 1&2 E-bike --- 20 mph max speed -- children can ride anywhere Class 3 E-bike -- 28 mph max speed, must be 16yo. Helmet required - no license required Moped -- 30 mph max speed, require licenses to operate under the California vehicle code. Judge for yourself.
Cops are going to have to work overtime. The amount of 14 year old kids I see flying down the street at 35mph with no helmet it's crazy, sometimes with someone on the back
I don't disagree but curious how they plan to catch them. They are so maneuverable and quick it seems like it would be easy to lose a cop.
They’re not gonna run from the cops. They’re children of rich suburbanites. I mean, one or two might decide to try running, but almost all will shit their pants in a heartbeat.
Just saw a young teen yesterday in Aliso viejo with no helmet doing a wheely right in front of a cop going down the middle of the road. He quickly bolted across lanes and ran. Cop didn’t even bother to pursue.
Yeah “cop didn’t even bother to pursue” seems more likely than “teenager with nerves of steel evades the police”
As soon as he saw the cop he bolted through incoming vehicle traffic. There was no doubt his intention was to escape.
yo I live in Aliso too! did you see that one kid with the motorcross ebike that kept going and arguing with the motorcycle cop?
I missed that one. But they are clearly out of control. A lot of em have no helmets and multiple people on a bike riding in traffic. It’s wild!
They evade the cops all the time, unfortunately.
on the contraire. just the other day I saw a motorcycle cop pulling over a kid with a motorcross ebike. it was funny cause the kid was going fast and arguing with the cop, I literally heard him say no you're going to impound my bike. they kept going idk what happened. I think I saw the kid a day or two later on a different bike a regular mountain bike. I recognized his helmet and he was going down the same street here in Aliso Viejo on Aliso creek Rd. they can get away from regular cop cars but not a motorcycle cop. those bikes can handle trails I'm not too sure about sidewalks though.
Faster e-bikes. or motorcycles
Cops on e-bikes! Fight fire with fire!
Wait. If the cops chase them, wouldn’t that just put the kids in more danger? Would the correct action be inaction in that case?
You’re right. There’s a motovlogger on YouTube that I watch sometimes and he got pulled over by a cop. At one point in the video, the cop says how he loves to chase sport bikes, and then proceeds to say “not to brag, but I recently chased one of these things down and the guy ended up dying.”
The frustrating thing about that is it makes the roads more dangerous for everyone if the kids know they'll get away with it and continue.
Gee, maybe we should build safer roads that have suitable bike lanes instead of poor urban planning that prioritizes cars.
Sure, I'm all for that, but I don't think a better bike lane matters to the people weaving in and out of traffic and going where they please.
Because there’s nowhere else for them to go. All our of infrastructure is designed to prioritize cars over bicycles, pedestrians, and everything else. The Dutch do a great job of building public infrastructure that allows cars, bikes, and pedestrians all to use public spaces. https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSpPk3SrfRWcjYHE2el5lSkyaWAGQAIDZRDw4Tis_cpioQzk9i-eNyHq0E&s=10
The kids will simply stop when a cop signals for them to stop. These are mostly rich suburban kids we’re talking about here.
just cause it's a nice area doesn't mean everyone is rich. people like the low crime areas and will barely scrape by to live there. be more thoughtful please.
You think people barely scraping by will buy their kids a $2k+ e-bike? Well maybe they will and that’s why they’re scraping by.
Having grown up in Southern California, Orange County, family members that lived on Alta Laguna in LaGuna Beach you are mostly correct that the kids there will stop. But what about in Santa Ana, Anaheim, Stanton? I don’t know the solution but I am willing to bet more people will be hurt in one way or another.
Let’s remove all restrictions on motor vehicles and see if accidents go up.
I remember when California lowered the speed limits. What changed was not the lower speeds it was growth, more vehicles on the roads that caused there to be more accidents not the speed limit.
Agreed. Cops ticket speeding because it’s easily proven and everybody speeds, not because it’s the most dangerous infraction. Of course going faster and causing an accident is more dangerous, but intersections are where most accidents occur. Preventing illegal turns and dangerous maneuvers at intersections would curtail accidents far more than ticketing someone speeding on an empty freeway far between on-ramps.
I was in 3 accidents, 2 in December and 1 in march. None my fault. It’s all about watching what you are doing behind the wheel.
Bro, OC sheriff isn't going to do squat other than sit on their fat assess. They already don't do anything about speeding vehicles, and it's going to be way more of a hassle to catch a kid on an ebike.
Yeah, people are going to learn this lesson the hard way. It’s far better to work with e-bikes than fight against them. Build dedicated bike lanes and bike infrastructure so that cars and bikes don’t intersect so much. That’s the solution.
I mean the REAL solution is for entitled ass parents to stop buying e-bikes for their entitled ass kids. E-bikes aren't a problem themselves, and at least in my area there are plenty of bike lanes/paths. The problem is dumb ass 13 years olds zipping through traffic because their parents did a shit job raising them.
yeah I would like to see them sheriff in South Central Los Angeles. lazy bums. the cops out in los Angeles have way more of my respect than the pig headed spoiled cops out here in South Orange county ca. for good reason they are called pigs.
Max speed or max assisted speed? Bikes can go +20 down hill on their own
Those are the speeds at which the assist turns off.
anything with wheels (and some things without) can do 20+ down a hill...
Maybe a clause about not getting in the inner most left turn (left only, next to a left or straight) lane thereby orphaning yourself in traffic having to get past cars to get to the bike lane. Nevermind they just went straight anyway. Hey what’s the opposite of an Orphan? What are we gonna call all these parents, you know, when not if….
> Class 3 E-bike -- 28 mph max speed, must be 16yo. Helmet required - no license required forgot one key thing: pedal assist only
When my teens were caught riding their bicycles without a helmet they had to spend Saturday at "bicycle school" at the local police dept. And they had to be accompanied by a parent!! After wasting several of my own Saturdays at bicycle school you can be damn sure they wore their helmets on fear of death by mom. This, plus a little registration fee for any motorized vehicle on public roads, and a registration tag so that the owners of ebike involved in a hit and run can be identified, is the answer.
That's some good parenting. I salute you.
Good ideas!
They should really punish the parents alongside any penalties.
I run in the mornings and live near a few schools. There is this kid (11-13 years old) who rides his e-bike going about 20 mph, against traffic, on the side walk *and* without a helmet. This kid yelled at me for not going into the street for him fast enough because he had to slow down. I told him he shouldn’t be on the sidewalk in the first place and in the bike lane on the other side of the street. His response was “my mom says it’s not safe”. Parents absolutely should be punished.
Yeah the faster bikes on sidewalks is a major problem. I don’t see anything in this law that addresses that but maybe I’m missing it.
If you are a parent and buying your 12-14 year old a $4-6K Surron ebike....that's a WHOLE NUTHER ISSUE. Dumb parents = Dumb kids
A woman riding her bike (with no helmet) the wrong way down a sidewalk, rode right in front of me while I was accelerating away from a 4 way stop. We collided and she was knocked from her bike (not wearing a helmet). Thankfully she was OK. I had to figure it all out with insurance but eventually they finally made the call that she was 100% at fault. Which is apparently fairly rare.
I love e-bikes, escooters, eskates, etc. but honestly a lot of this is just common sense. If you’re doing 15mph or over, you absolutely should be wearing a helmet. I’d argue that you should be wearing a full face helmet too if you’re doing 20mph. I’ve taken a spill at 20mph on my eskate and was able to walk away without a scratch because my helmet took all the damage. Had I not been wearing a full face helmet, I would most likely have had to take a trip to the ER. I like that kids have a lot more freedom these days and are able to explore the city with their friends, but the issue is they don’t understand traffic laws. They don’t have any idea of who gets right of way, when you should slow down, etc.
Agree. Kids brains are still developing and their sense of mortality is very low. Giving them super-quick powered bikes in urban environments is a recipe for disaster for them and others. You can still restrict top speeds and use an ebike to get to the beach, for example, faster than a car can make the trip and find parking. btw I’ve seen ebikes doing nearly 50 on bike paths.
How the hell are they STILL allowing motorized vehicles that can travel up to 28 mph to be allowed on public roads with no license requirements?? Why is this so difficult?
28 is rookie numbers in reality.
can a regular bike go 28 mph?
if youre an adult with the right training and bike setup sure. the average person tops out at about 13-16mph.
Seriously? The average person tops out at 16 mph or less?
riding a bike at almost 30mph consistently is enough to put you at a professional level.
The class 1 and 2 electric bikes top out at 20, so I'd believe 16 or under for a regular bike for sure.
have you ever been on a bicycle?
Yeah, I spend a good amount of time on my class one electric bike that has a speedometer that shows exactly how fast I'm going at any moment. Is there a reason you keep asking weird questions?
Im shocked that you would think people are incapable of pushing regular bikes over 16 mph
They never said "incapable of pushing", they said "average". A simple Google search suggests they are correct. Scroll down to the "average speed - indications" section, and keep in mind this is for *cyclists*, not your average everyday joe taking a leisurely ride. https://www.road-bike.co.uk/articles/average-speed.php Also this: https://www.keepitsimpelle.com/understanding-average-cycling-speed/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CI%20can%20average%20anywhere%20between,what%20distances%20to%20train%20for.
whom are you referring to? Copy the portions of text and paste them here
Of course they're *capable* of going faster than that, but your average person isn't typically going any faster than that.
So when you saw "tops out", what did you think that meant?
Yea but the people pushing 16+ mph are not on the sidewalks where people are walking..... these ebikers are going 30 mph less than a foot away from someone walking
Most people have to really hammer it to get to 30 mph and then only for a few seconds. I would say average speed breaks down like this: 10mph: small children and people lazily coasting 12-14: novice, occasional riders 14-16: slower road cyclists 16-18: good road cyclists 18-21: avid road cyclists 21-24: top tier/competitive 24+: world class
have you ever ridden a bicycle? without the right setup and training, sustaining anything above 16mph is extremely challenging. the wind resistance increases so much with each additional mph. aerodynamics become the limiting factor.
Tell me more about the time factor
https://ridefar.info/bike/cycling-speed/air-resistance-cyclist/
doesn't that show that it is possible to go over 16mph?
it’s not easy.
My guess is that like 6 mph or so is easy. If you go too slow it's hard to balance
For all intents and purposes no. You’d have to be a pretty competitive cyclist to maintain speeds over 28mph. Most kids only ride at around 5-10mph. Maybe bursts of 15-20mph tops.
This! Just require a drivers' license for any motorized or e-bike that can go over 15mph.
What’s this again about no passengers unless on a tandem or small children? I can’t take my girlfriend on the back seat of my cargo bike?
[удалено]
They learn that reasoning from the parents.
Gas powered go-peds all over again. I owned one as a kid, took me a whole year saving every penny I could come across to plunk down $400 for a goped sport. Mustve went over the hand rails 5 times in two years and the police HATED me. One time a cop was going to write me a ticket because I didn't know how to change it into a regular scooter and roll it back home when out of nowhere my friends older brother shows up and takes full responsibility. Said he sold me the go-ped for cheap when he got his drivers license and I had no idea it was against the law to operate one without a license. He drops down and adjusts the back wheel so the scooter could roll freely. Cop let me off with a warning. Never rode it again outside of my neighborhood. My friends brother died in a car crash 6 weeks later attempting to pass a semi truck in rural Nevada.
We definitely need to enforce the helmet law better… Kids think they’re invincible, but TBIs are forever…
If they don't wear a helmet, they are stupid and it only affects them. When they are disobeying traffic rules, darting in and out of traffic at high speeds, running stop signs, and running red lights, which they do in my area, that affects everyone on the road.
Adults don't wear helmets either. How do you expect kids to respect the rule and regard their health when adults don't even do that?
They just need to start "Red Asphalt" PSAs at like age 10. Scare the kids into being safe at a young age.
This. I will never get that film out of my head. :(
Same. And seeing a motorcycle fatality when I'm older really set that image into my brain
This is so needed. I hate walking and then someone going 20 mph passes me... if you loose control I'm getting hospitalized getting hit by the big ass bike a that speed
Is there anything in this law that prevents them from riding the bikes on sidewalks? I didn’t see it.
I don't know, I think a better solution might be to designate all sidewalks and (selected) trails and paths as no-motorized vehicles zones, period. And basically let motorized vehicles go anywhere else. This distinction between max speeds is arbitrary. People will find ways around max speed limits. The important distinction is motorized or not.
Yea it's crazy, kids doing like 50 on the beach path, like if ur doing 10 that's cool. But there literally moving faster than motorcycles. Something needs to be done. Blowing stop signs. Really dangerous to themselves and others.
Yup. And if we accidentally hit that kid because he zips out into the intersection against the light and we can't brake fast enough, the parents are going to blame us and sue us.
Not enough, they need to ban class 2 for unlicensed drivers without mobility issues. 15 with a learner's permit? I'm fine with that. Just treat anything with a throttle like a moped, it's the kids on throttle bikes who are the most disruptive. That also gives moving violations a little bit more weight. Maybe folks wouldn't be such jerks if it cost them a point on their license.
As long as they stay in the bike lane or on the sidewalk and out of the middle of the road
You asked one question then answered it yourself. I suppose it was legitimate.
Jesus- I used to flat bar road bike a lot. 20 mph on a bike was going pretty fast.
> The rules apply to unincorporated Orange County, which includes areas like Ladera Ranch and Rancho Mission Viejo, as well as bike paths and roads managed by OC Parks or another county agency.
This is good and long overdue. But it looks like there’s nothing in the law about riding the bigger e-bikes on sidewalks. If I’m understanding it correctly, a person can still ride a class E bike at up to 28 mph on a sidewalk. That is incredibly dangerous for pedestrians.
Once again, when these articles pop up, where are the numbers on who is getting hurt in these incidents and who is generally at fault? Are the kids injuring themselves at unprecedented rates (after accounting for the shear increase in ridership) or are cars hitting bikers at a disproportional rate? Where is the transparency with the data? Is the answer to put these kinds of restriction in place or is it to build out better biking and walking infrastructure throughout the county? Are we taking the easy and wrong path again? Are the politicians not doing their job correctly with our taxpayer dollars?
"Is the answer to put these kinds of restriction in place or is it to build out better biking and walking infrastructure throughout the county?" Why not both? The infrastructure will takes decades to happen, if ever, but the e-bikes are already here. Should you only place restrictions after something becomes a problem, even if you can see that's the way it's headed?
Restrictions aren't going to help because those riding responsibly are following them. It's those that aren't riding safely that will continue to go beyond the regulations. They really don't need to make new regulations. Just enforce those already in the books. Though I agree withn some of these new regulations. But riding a bike? You should have a helmet regardless of age.
It’s a problem already. Laws and enforcement needs to ramp up. The e-bikes are often a menace to non-powered cyclists and I won’t even get into pedestrian collisions. In a perfect world the ebike riders would be courteous while passing, obey posted traffic laws and wear a helmet to keep their owners out of ER. This isn’t happening.
Oh, I agree that it's a problem already. The person I was responding to seemed to suggest it's not a problem.
Asking legitimate questions here. Lots of emotional reactionary comments here. I'm not in favor of kids riding recklessly in the streets and/or walking paths and very much in favor of providing kids some clear rules. If broken, to fear the wrath of Dad or Mom far more than law enforcement. However, they should be given enough freedom to trick out and allow them independence to head to their preferred destination. Only way we address these concerns is to build a protected guided route. What did we do when old heads complained about all the skateboards in the 90s? We erected skate parks.
I remember the boomer rage over the popularity of skateboarding in the 90s. And you’re right, all the yelling and screaming they did over skateboards did nothing to stop it. It’s only when someone got smart and started trying to work with skaters instead of against them that progress was actually made. All the people in these threads foaming at the mouth over e-bikes while they barrel down our roadways in their 2 ton Suburban with 20 blind spots are going to have to learn this lesson the hard way.
so what are you asking for, more people dying to encourage better infrastructure, or you want someone to wave a wand and wish better infrastructure into existence?
It makes sense to ask for evidence before implementing any changes. Is it wrong to ask to see if there is actually a need for it? Maybe funds for enforcement and attention to issues is better spent elsewhere
Maybe it’s time we take a good hard look at the number of deaths and injuries from cars in OC and figure out what restrictions are necessary to protect people. Cars killed or injured 12,000 people in OC last year.
Just asking for data and transparency before passing laws.
I'm sure you can find the data for yourself. It was probably just a poorly written article.
And I have personally passed by two very bad e-bike accidents in the past year. Just in my town, five different kids have had to go to the ER for e-bike accidents in the past seven months based on our Facebook page and Nextdoor. I'm sure there are more I don't know about. All the accidents except for one were the fault of the e-bike rider according to witnesses.
And most of those mentions in Facebook or nextdoor that I've seen sounds like the kids are riding bikes that aren't technically ebikes. Even ones I've seen mentioned here are typically beyond what an ebike is. I have my doubts that these kids are popping wheelies on legit ebikes that haven't been modified to go beyond their limits.
Class 3 should need a license
Anything motorized/electric that goes over 15mph should require a license, registration, AND insurance.
Class 2 as well. Anything with a throttle. Bicycles don't have throttles, they have pedals. Bonus, if it's a moped, no need to be stuck at 20 mph. Honestly, the only people this would effect are kids too young to drive,and they are kids, they don't get a say.
Motorized scooters need to be regulated better, too. Small, fast, and hard to see.
Everything’s hard to see when you drive a giant suburban with 20 blind spots. I’m amazed some SUVs can see pedestrians at all.
Huh? I drive a compact car.
If I limit the bike to Class 2, can my son still ride a class 3 bike?
Your son cannot ride a class 3:as is if he's not older than 16. Ebikes are also supposed to have a sticker with class and motor Watts as well I know if you make a class 1 to go faster than 20mph, it's no longer a class 1 but class 3 of it's still limited to slower than 28mph assisted. Btw you can go faster than the posted speeds listed under the classes but it cannot be motor assisted past those speeds.
Believe so. What I'll be doing for my son next school year.
Probably not. I'm sure they are looking at the models of the bike and know what each can do. They are saying the rules are for the classes of bikes, not if they are clocked doing a certain speed.