Tired of teens terrorizing the town on e-bikes? Los Angeles City Council members are too.
The Council’s Rules Committee passed a motion Tuesday that asks the Department of Transportation to come up with ways to regulate e-bikes, including who can ride them and how. The measure next goes to the full City Council.
The motion outlines a number of possible measures including banning the sale of e-bikes, e-motos and electric mopeds that don’t meet legal standards out of the box, banning modifications that can make e-bikes faster and requiring education for riders under 18 or who don’t have a driver’s license. The motion, authored by Councilmembers Heather Hutt and John Lee, also suggested implementing rules for storage and charging to prevent battery fires.
If the full council approves the measure, the city’s Department of Transportation will have 30 days to report back with recommendations.
E-bikes are classified into three categories based on speed and function; Class 1 is pedal-assisted only up to 20 miles per hour. Class 2 includes a throttle, but is also capped at 20 miles per hour. Class 3 is pedal assist but goes up to 28 miles per hour, require riders to be at least 16 years old and cannot typically be used on bike paths. Anything faster is classified as an moped or e-motorcycle, which can require someone to have a motorcycle classification on their license.
While e-bikes are lauded for increasing exercise and helping Angelenos get around in a city otherwise built for cars, injuries from e-bike crashes have surged, especially in minors, according to the motion. An elderly woman in March was injured after a teen struck her riding an e-bike, among other collisions across the region that killed a Garden Grove 13-year-old after he lost control of his electric motorcycle.
The council has authored other motions to limit e-bikes elsewhere, including a ban for e-bikes on equestrian and hiking trails.
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