California Wants to Put License Plates on E-Bikes and Slow Them Down. Cyclists Are Not Happy About It
2026-05-03 20:16 UTC
Replies (37)
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@LordCrom@lemmy.world 2026-05-05 01:08
Oh no.... Can't have people travelling around without flock cameras being able to establish travel patterns.... As more people turn to e bikes for commutes or errands, government needs to be able to track and Id you. /s but still its probably true
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@Washedupcynic@lemmy.ca 2026-05-04 12:31
I've put 4000 miles on my e-bike in the past 2 years. Even though I follow traffic laws, I've seen far too much fuckery by other e-bike riders. I'm seeing children riding e-bikes and scooters, without helmets, doing crazy shit in the middle of the road almost cause accidents. I have narrowly avoided hitting such children on 3 separate occasions. I see plenty of adults on these things also not following traffic laws and riding these things on busy sidewalks. I really do not want e-bikes to be regulated like cars. Being forced to register and carry insurance makes an inexpensive thing expensive. That being said, there are tons of dumb assholes out there that will ruin it for the rest of us.
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@yenahmik@lemmy.world 2026-05-04 16:01
The number of children I see zooming around the neighborhood without helmets and not even stopping at stop signs (I legit almost hit one kid one time who blew through a stop sign in front of me), is pretty horrifying. Their parents have basically given them all small motorcycles and let them go free with no supervision. It just seems so unsafe.
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@stickly@lemmy.world 2026-05-04 19:23
Too many people in here are perfectly fine with all movement outside of their home being ID'd, documented and monitored. A plate on a bike does absolutely nothing to make the road safer. It just normalizes the "safety" of constant surveillance by your benevolent overlords. Put normal regulations on e bike performance and build bike safe infrastructure. "It would be too dangerous to chase them"... get on your own bike you fat lazy pig.
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@infinitesunrise@slrpnk.net 2026-05-03 21:12
Just license them in accordance with their capabilities. All the bad press about ebikes lately is running cover for government negligence over lack of normalizing them into existing licensing frameworks, on behalf of the automotive lobby that knows if these vehicles aren't given an appropriate legal niche they will instead end up being seen by society as dangerous scofflaws and ultimately banned or legistalted out of practicality. Use your brains. Ask why the discussion doesn't revolve around appropriate licensure and infrastructure, and instead revolves around how to get rid of them.
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@blitzen@lemmy.ca 2026-05-04 23:38
[Analog] cyclist here. I'm of the opinion if it has a throttle, it needs *some* sort of registration and maybe even minimal insurance. Class I (in the US), you don't need anyone's permission to ride. Just like a regular bicycle. Class III, you need some sort of registration/license. Might as well be a motorcycle. Class II is where we can have some discussion and disagreement.
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@favoredponcho@lemmy.zip 2026-05-04 01:55
I think it makes sense for those bikes that can do 30mph+ and aren’t even meant to be ridden as bicycles despite having pedals. They usually look like a motorcycle and can accommodate two riders. Having bicycle pedals shouldn’t be a loophole for bypassing drivers licensing requirements and traffic laws. These things are usually ridden by 10-15 year olds who don’t yet have formal training. I saw a kid cause an accident buzzing through a 4-way stop. I’ve also heard of them colliding with pedestrians at high speeds on sidewalks. E-bikes are a good thing overall, but it’s the Wild West right now and some e-bikes can go way too fast for something that isn’t regulated.
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@oh_@lemmy.world 2026-05-04 11:23
Now limit car speed next? They seem to be the biggest menace on the roads in California. E-motos are not e-bikes and e-bikes shouldn’t be lumped into legislation.
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@blindbunny@lemmy.ml 2026-05-04 23:04
Some of these comments read like FBI boot licker plants
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@VibeSurgeon@piefed.social 2026-05-04 08:58
Reading what the law actually says, these seem to be sensible changes, bringing the rules in line with European standards.
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@trackball_fetish@lemmy.wtf 2026-05-05 04:12
I don't agree with any of idea of registering a bike but what did people expect? Slap a motor on a bike and the cops are going to target you. Hell, no motor and they still will. Edit: you can be mad about it if you want but I'm just letting you know thats exactly what they've always done to moped riders and now they're coming for electric motors. Same shit different year.
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@adespoton@lemmy.ca 2026-05-03 23:16
As a cyclist, I’m all for e-bikes requiring a license. Most e-bikes in my area are ridden by people who can’t get a driver’s license. This includes people underage, people with their license revoked, and people who have restrictions on their licenses. And people regularly remove the regulators on those bikes, making them unsafe on the roads. Meanwhile, they’re also tearing up the mountain bike trails I normally ride on my pedal bike. Many of the people riding these have zero traffic safety training, zero trail etiquette, and zero interest in cooperating with others. Last week at dusk I had what looked like a 13 year old riding his bike behind me in city traffic, doing a wheelie. Eventually he swerved around me to cross oncoming traffic and hop up onto the sidewalk on the other side of the street so he could avoid an intersection. Sure, there’s probably plenty of well behaved e-bike riders out there, but the volume of unsafe ones I’ve seen over the past month is insane.
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@Cellari@lemmy.world 2026-05-04 06:15
It's not that bad. Little accountability never hurt anyone! If I had to have a dismissive opinion though, if the license plates do not increase safety and reduce bike thefts, then it's just another meaningless cog on the machine.
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@rants_unnecessarily@piefed.social 2026-05-04 10:58
E-bikes are already capped at 25km/h here. Aren't they elsewhere?
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@RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world 2026-05-04 03:25
You’re not really a “cyclist” if a motor is doing a bunch of the work. That’s the equivalent of those mopeds we had in the ‘70s that you could pedal, too. Probably went 35-40 mph. Nobody in their right mind would call them bicycles or call the riders cyclists. It’s a motorized bike.
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@Tudsamfa@lemmy.world 2026-05-04 05:33
While my knee-jerk reaction was that they're going to over regulate, all those changes are already in effect in the EU and it didn't destroy the e-bike market there. So I guess California will manage. Class 2 and 3 requiring license plates makes sense to me. And class 1 would be pedelecs in the EU, where they are capped at 250 Watt and 25 kmh. Class 1 being capped at 750 Watt and 16mph (25kmh) seems okay, might be inconvenient with how much further apart everything is over there, but reaction times are the same all over the globe. I personally don't even drive the full 25kmh, in the city I'm capped by the manual cyclists in front, which I don't need to overtake. And outside I'm too worried about my battery to go full power. I will say, cargo bikes in particular could use a higher powered motor than the 250 Watts we have here, but I have no idea what a good cap would be.
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@ColeSloth@discuss.tchncs.de 2026-05-04 15:12
I'd say stick a 30mph limit as a cutoff for needing to be licensed, with anything above that to just be considered a scooter (the 49cc kind that need licensed but aren't allowed on freeways) and anything faster than that a motorcycle, and be done with it.
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@NateNate60@lemmy.world 2026-05-03 20:52
I'm a bicyclist and I think this is not a bad idea. Class 3 e-bikes have engines which can accelerate to a top speed of nearly 50 km/h which makes them practically slow motorcycles at that point. A collision between a pedestrian and an e-bike accelerated to top speed will send at least one person to the hospital. And the risk of cyclists who blatantly flaunt traffic laws is also present, even though most people in my city tend to follow the law. There's a bike path in my city which is used as both a commuter route and a recreational route, and some people ride their e-bikes at crazy speeds just centimetres away from children riding their tricycles. What I wouldn't support is the extra paperwork burden. Opponents of this law are right when they say that it should be made easier to switch from driving to using an e-bike, not harder. But minimal registration formalities are probably fine, as long as they are made relatively easy. Maybe something like a registration plate which is affixed at the factory and which you have to register using the DMV website or an app. This would also make tracking down stolen bikes easier.
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@resipsaloquitur@lemmy.cafe 2026-05-03 21:52
I’m a bicyclist and a motorcyclist. The bicyclists who act like a weekend class and a street safety test are an existential threat are full of it. Yes, it IS possible to get licenses for things. Having a plate on what’s a motorcycle in all but name is good for safety. The number of people ripping along on bicycle and foot paths at 30mph+ has gotten insane. Even ignoring that, the number of single vehicle accidents on e-bikes has gone exponential.
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@lechekaflan@lemmy.world 2026-05-04 04:42
As if dozens of bros on dirt bikes and quads roaming about weren't enough, you have these dumb kids getting their hands on souped-up "e-bikes" where pedals are but an afterthought. These hellions are giving other e-bike riders, including people relying on pedal assist, a bad rep.
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@extremeboredom@lemmy.world 2026-05-03 20:48
Why are they capping wattage as well as speed? Is it important to the Canadian government that people must be unable to climb hills?
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@tal@lemmy.today 2026-05-03 20:50
>Two bills moving through the California legislature this year could change how e-bikes are bought, ridden, and regulated across the state. One would require riders of certain electric bikes to register their vehicles with the DMV and slap a license plate on the frame. The other would reduce the top speed that e-bikes for children are allowed to reach. If you are a daily commuter, a weekend rider, or a parent who just bought their kid a new electric bike, this news is worth paying attention to. > >The bills are being pitched as a safety measure, and the lawmakers behind them say the surge in e-bike usage, especially among teens and tweens in suburban areas, has created real enforcement headaches for local police. Without license plates, officers say it is nearly impossible to ticket a rider safely without chasing them down, which creates its own set of dangers. >Officers told her they are seeing dangerous speeds from electric bikes but have no practical way to issue citations without putting themselves or others at risk. My issue isn't them exceeding the speed limit, but outright disregarding traffic laws, like going the wrong way on the street, disregarding red lights and stop signs, and not having lights while operating at night. I don't do any of that when I'm on a bike, and the people who are breaking those laws also shouldn't be. Those are all issues that come up as readily with conventional bicycles as with e-bikes. If e-bikes on public roads are going to be required to sport a license plate, I'd think that conventional bicycles could also be required to have a license plate.
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@magnue@lemmy.world 2026-05-03 21:00
Pretty sensible. Brings things nearly in line with EU regs. Personally though I think 20mph is just about right as a limit without really upsetting people. It's 15.6mph here and I just don't see the point using one if I can ride faster on most terrain under my own steam.
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@crystalmerchant@lemmy.world 2026-05-04 04:31
I mean if it drives the speed of a motorcycle and is powered like one, it should be registered. Butttt watch the state overzealously use this to track all the bicyclists. Can't have those pesky bikers moving around without the law knowing now can we
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@PearOfJudes@lemmy.ml 2026-05-04 06:37
I forgot ebikes dont have liscence plates! That along with public transport is probably the most private ways to travel.
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@MehBlah@lemmy.world 2026-05-04 13:20
Tough. Go back to a regular bike. Around here the cops have been making them follow the driving laws for a few years. There are no state laws but other ways to get them to not be a danger.
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@IEatDaFeesh@lemmy.world 2026-05-04 23:40
It's more nuanced than just "regulation bad and I want my freedom." With the war in Iran destroying the world's energy economy, people will be forced to use cheaper modes of transportation. And when there aren't any buses/trains, E-bikes are a good solution. The problem will be that too many people will be pushed into it and some people are just retarded. There will be reckless people and there will be those that can barely operate the vehicle. I think it's worth considering some form of regulations knowing that they're may be an E-bike boom in the coming years (or maybe even months).
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@Gammelfisch@lemmy.world 2026-05-04 23:08
California is spot on and if the e-bike is able to travel above 25 km/h it should be illegal to ride in the bicycle lane. Why the hell are kids riding an e-bike when they should be building endurance and muscles.
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@quips@slrpnk.net 2026-05-04 18:34
Cause its stupid. Regulate the bikes so they perform like regular bikes and forget about it. People don’t buy ebikes to go fast, they buy them to make hills easier.
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@Smoogs@lemmy.world 2026-05-05 13:38
Do that for all bikes. If they run a stop sign or light, prison.
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@Tollana1234567@lemmy.today 2026-05-04 05:27
they shoud do it to normal cycilists, alot of them ignore pedestrians and expect them to move out of the way while flying at 20+mph towards them.
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@rarbg@lemmy.zip 2026-05-04 23:35
Lemmy when offline driver monitoring to prevent dui and falling asleep, texting: 🤬🤬 Lemmy when requiring license and registration just to ride a bicycle: 🤭
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@Ironfist79@lemmy.world 2026-05-03 20:26
What a stupid idea.
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@0x0@lemmy.zip 2026-05-04 14:44
And have them pay insurance.
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@SaneMartigan@lemmy.world 2026-05-04 03:32
Good, they're great technology. Regulation and legislation will allow them to be used safely resulting in fewer cars on the road.
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@boonhet@sopuli.xyz 2026-05-04 13:45
Cars require a license that can be taken away if the driver is a danger to society. They also drive on their own roads. An e-bike can hit pretty high speeds and is usually ridden on pedestrian walkways. There's no license to take away, and if you don't get caught immediately, you can just go bye bye since there's no license plate. That's why they're introducing regulations limiting unlicensed e-bikes to reasonable speeds, while more powerful e-bikes are still available if you're 18 and get a license plate. You can still ride it without any training since those don't assist you past 45 km/h either... Though personally I'm of the opinion that an ebike capable of hitting 45 km/h in 2 seconds on a pedestrian walkway should require training and a license too. Or just be banned from sidewalks.
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@Blackout@fedia.io 2026-05-04 13:51
Mopeds have pedals but mostly function by a throttle. I never knew a single person that used the pedals unless they were out of gas. My bike (class 2, mid-engine) does not work without pedals and makes commuting feasible in areas with a lot of hills. I always pedal past the 28mph max and it's 0 engine assist in those moments. You going to regulate that then you need to regulate all the spandex guys on the weekends too.