Post #2205178

>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.