How to combat the e-bike backlash

In a state where 4,000 people die and many more are injured annually from traffic violence, some California cities are panicking because teenagers on e-bikes have…did a wheelie? The ultra-conservative enclave of Huntington Beach passed a draconian law last year allowing police to confiscate bicycles from teenagers found to have violated the (likely unconstitutional) regulations. Now Santa Barbara is considering an ordinance based on the Huntington Beach law.

The popularity of e-bikes – and the confusion of small motorcycles with e-bikes – has led some local governments to declare states of emergency and impose restrictions and fines on people using e-bikes. There have been very few deaths, almost entirely caused by drivers hitting people on e-bikes. In these cases, the car is the problem.

There is increased interaction between people riding e-bikes, including out-of-class bikes that could be more accurately classified as mopeds, and pedestrians on shared paths. This can be particularly frightening for older pedestrians, and it is understandable that communities would want to create an atmosphere of safety on mixed-use trails. Criminalizing e-bike riders does not solve this problem and actually creates more safety risks than it solves.

CalBike has created a toolkit that advocates can use when local elected officials propose regulations that discourage or discourage people from riding e-bikes (and all bicycles). Scroll to the bottom of this post to download it.

6 reasons against criminalizing e-bike riders, even if you don’t ride an e-bike

To paraphrase a famous saying, “First they came for the e-bikes…” Over-policing of e-bikes harms all cyclists and compromises public safety. That’s why everyone who supports active transportation should speak out against unfair e-bike regulations.

1. All cyclists are targeted. Some e-bikes are obviously electric, but many look very similar to acoustic bikes, where the battery is discreetly attached to the frame or even hidden within the frame. If the police target e-bike riders, they will inevitably harass some people who ride acoustic bikes.
2. Police bike checks are racist. An in-depth investigation by the LA Times found that police disproportionately stopped black and Latino cyclists, and data from other communities has shown the same pattern. Who is most likely to be stopped for a suspected e-bike violation? Who is most at risk of having their bike confiscated? Riders who are “other,” “outsiders,” or “a threat” — in other words, BIPOC cyclists.
3. Traffic delays can have fatal consequences. Encounters with police can be fatal, especially for men of color. E-bikes almost never kill anyone, but police officers do. Even non-fatal stops can physically and emotionally traumatize cyclists. No one should have to go through this to ride a bike. California has moved to decriminalize things like “jaywalking” to reduce the frequency of police encounters; Criminalizing e-bike riders is a step in the wrong direction.
4. Demonizing cyclists makes everyone less safe. Studies have shown that riders who view people on bikes as less human are more likely to ride dangerously around them. Cities that treat e-bike riders as criminals encourage drivers to drive too close, lock out cyclists, or threaten them with their cars, increasing the risk of injury or death.
5. Criminalizing any form of cycling makes people less likely to cycle. Getting around on any bike is economical, healthy and fun. But getting on a bike is less attractive if you’re worried about being fined $500 or having your bike confiscated. If you’re forced to ride in heavy traffic or denied access to bike paths, a bike ride might not be much fun.
6. It’s the wrong solution to the wrong problem. Our planet is warming and we need to drive less and cycle, walk and use public transport more. If too many e-bikes are clogging a city’s streets, deal with bike congestion the way you would deal with car congestion and build more bike paths, bike paths, and shared-use paths. If conflicts arise between pedestrians and e-bike riders, build even more bike paths with passing lanes or bike highways that allow limited-access through routes. Limit the places where people can drive cars and make room for active transportation. These measures aren’t as simple as writing a law that blames everything on e-bike riders, but they will make the roads safer for everyone.

What is an e-bike and what is not?

One of the challenges with e-bikes is that California regulations have not kept pace with the increasing popularity of e-bikes. This has allowed new companies to release models marketed as e-bikes that feature settings such as “off-road,” which allow the bikes to go faster than an e-bike’s maximum speed of 28 miles per hour to drive class 3. Many of these vehicles do not meet the California definition of an e-bike.

CalBike sponsored bills this year to clarify the classification of e-bikes and require safety certifications for e-bike batteries to prevent fires. We are working with legislators to develop additional meaningful regulations to ensure the safety of all e-bike riders in California.

We believe that regulation of the e-bike market and use should be done at the state level. For example, if age limits for riding e-bikes change from city to city, a rider could be breaking the law without realizing it simply by crossing a municipal boundary.

And as noted above, the local ordinances being considered or enacted do not address these safety concerns, but rather penalize all e-bike riders – and anyone who rides a bike.

How to use CalBike’s toolkit

We wish we could comment on every new e-bike regulation, but that’s not possible in a state the size of California. We count on local bike coalitions, advocates and concerned citizens to oppose anti-bike regulations.

In the toolkit provided in the PDF below, we outline common provisions we have seen in e-bike regulations and responses to them. We also include talking points you can use when testifying about a proposed law at a City Council meeting, as well as a sample letter you can send to your local elected officials.

Thank you for being a bike champion and standing up for the rights of all cyclists.