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A Challenge to Our Riding Community: The E‑Bike Kids Are Coming Up — What Are We Going To Do About It?

Example Message

Roads Are Not Playgrounds

A Public Safety Message from the California Highway Patrol – Motor Unit

As a CHP Motor Officer, I spend every day on California’s roads. I see the best of our communities—people moving with purpose, families traveling together, riders enjoying the freedom of two wheels. But I also see the moments when everything changes in an instant. And lately, too many of those moments involve e‑bikes.

E‑bikes are fast, powerful machines. At 20–30 mph, they move with the same speed and force as a small motorcycle. When they’re used responsibly, they’re a great way to get around. But when riders—especially young riders—treat public roads like playgrounds, the consequences are severe.

I’ve responded to collisions where riders suffered traumatic injuries:

• Head trauma that permanently affects memory, speech, and behavior
• Broken bones requiring plates, screws, and multiple surgeries
• Spinal injuries that change mobility for life
• Internal injuries that don’t heal cleanly—or fully

These aren’t minor scrapes. These are life‑altering events. They impact families, schools, and entire communities. One risky decision—running a stop sign, darting between cars, riding against traffic, blasting down a sidewalk—can lead to months of recovery, permanent disability, or a tragedy no family should ever face.

From the CHP Motor Unit, here’s what every e‑bike rider needs to understand:

• You are operating a vehicle. The law applies to you.
• Stop at all stop signs and signals. Most severe crashes happen at intersections.
• Ride with the flow of traffic. Wrong‑way riding increases impact speed and injury severity.
• Stay off sidewalks. High‑speed riding near pedestrians is dangerous and illegal.
• Control your speed. Reaction time disappears quickly at e‑bike velocities.
• Parents: If your child rides an e‑bike, they need real instruction. Their safety depends on it.

My job is to protect the public. That means enforcing the law, educating riders, and preventing tragedies before they happen. E‑bikes can be part of a safe transportation system—but only when riders treat them with the seriousness they demand.

Roads are not playgrounds.
They are shared public spaces, and the consequences of misuse can last a lifetime.

Ride Safe
 
I put this in general, but it’s good information for here. 21 Emoto’s, I think one with petals. The line between E bikes and Emoto’s is pretty blurred. Pretty much all the e motos I see are illegal.

Travis Pastrana tests 21 Electric Dirt Bikes

Really cool. They seemed to have missed our Beta https://electricdirtriders.com/threads/miscellaneus-ebikes-tested-at-pastranaland.5125/
www.bayarearidersforum.com www.bayarearidersforum.com
 
The line is not really blurred, class 1, 2 or 3 Ebikes are clearly defined.

People just don't want to acknowledge that most of what is out there, (that all the kids want and are causing most of the problems) are illegal e motos that are not legal for Street use, and most don't have the ability to even get a sticker for legal off road where that is required
 
After posting here yesterday, I found myself fully in one of those positions, of an interference traffic fit.
Potential of taking out an 5" wheeled E-scoot, or He taking out my fender.
I'm heading downhill, into an intersection with 5 lanes both ways. E-scoot on the sidewalk, parallel to me.
Thru the big crossroads, back up to the sidewalk, I need to turn right, I can't cross in front, he will eat my fender, so I roll next to him, hoping my Real Trucks Rattle, will soak thru the headphone cups he is wearing.
He does glance my way just before he bailed to the right, off the sidewalk and into my driveway, I followed.
I gave him the right of way, from the jump. He did hook that turn with talent, no wobble.
Imagine my surprise when I found him in Safeway, shopping, alive & well.

We are all players in this, changeover in tactics, bring it all under the same umbrella of safety.
 

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augustiron said:
Relevant

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Man, that's some hyperbolic bs from the reporting. Using terms like "gangs" and "terrorize" to describe punk kids doing punk things is a choice. They go looking for a reaction, and people give it to them, kicking off confrontations. Of course they can be total assholes, public nuisances, and flagrant violators of the VC, but that behavior isn't exclusive to e-bikers. Considering the number of e-bikes in operation, this "scourge" represents a tiny fraction of users, much like the moto scene.

A key difference I notice (IRL, not second-hand), is that these things are REALLY quiet, and they rip by and startle people into panic. Imagine a full-size person on a moto grazing you at 25+ mph. Takes your breath away.
 
I was looking into what’s the current status of this subject…..
This what I found….
PaulR
 

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PaulR said:
I was looking into what’s the current status of this subject…..
This what I found….
PaulR
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Meat
Section 312.5 CVC, Electric Bicycles: A bicycle equipped with fully operable pedals
and an electric motor that does not exceed 750 watts. There are three classifications:
• Class 1 or “low-speed pedal- assisted.
”
o Motor only provides assistance when the rider is pedaling.
2
Safety, Service, and Security An Internationally Accredited Agency
CHP 47 (Rev. 10-13) OPI 003
o Not capable of exclusively propelling the bicycle, with the exception of a
start assistance or “walk mode.
”
o Ceases providing assistance when the bicycle speed reaches 20 mph.
o Not capable of providing assistance to reach speeds greater than 20 mph.
• Class 2 or “low-speed throttle- assisted.
”
o Motor that may be used exclusively to propel the bicycle.
o Not capable of providing assistance when the bicycle speed reaches
20 mph.
• Class 3 or “speed pedal- assisted.
”
o Motor that provides assistance only when the rider is pedaling.
o Ceases providing assistance when the bicycle speed reaches 28 mph.
o Equipped with a speedometer.
 
augustiron said:
And who has actually seen that before now....?
Click to expand...
Reply …..
CHP did not release the 2026 e‑bike bulletins through a public PSA campaign. They were made public only through CHP’s official bulletin system — meaning they were publicly accessible documents, but not actively broadcast to the general public. CHP

What this looks like in practice

• CHP posts bulletins on its website in PDF form.

• They do not promote them through news media or social channels.

• They rely on agencies, schools, and local governments to interpret and share the information if needed.

So unless someone is actively checking CHP bulletins, they would never see these.

It was posted in May 2026

Geez 🙄
 
LE has a simple distinction around here, pedals need no license and no pedals does. Enforcement has begun in response to community concerns.

Improving tech especially batteries makes this an evolving issue. Parents are quietly loving the transportation budget relief, as cars in CA are really expensive per mile to operate. E-bikes are not a gateway drug to a turbo busa, but to better e-bikes as skills and budget allow. $3500 vs $15K for a beater commuter car. Show me the incentive and I'll show you the outcome.

If our infrastructure was more bike friendly there would be far less interaction resulting in injuries and complaints. I tried to sell my SO on an e-bike for commuting and she said "how will you get out of the way of cars, hell no, those things are dangerous." So I test drove the bmw xr1000 and a powerful e-bike would scorch it 0-30. The top speed limit on my commute is 45 mph. Do want
 
Alright, answers to simple questions please. My wife has a Specialized Turbo Tero 5.0, class 3. I have a Specialized Turbo Levo R S Works, class 1 by default, but I can select class 3 mode. Where do we stand within CA law? The majority of our riding is on the street, with some forays onto trails. I do know that Sierra Azul forbids class 3 bikes. I would, however, particularly for SWMBO, not have a problem claiming limited mobility status, or whatever the designation is. I however, would have to claim a knowledge of gibberish English. :). My bike is capable of selecting class 3, so I could be a sneaky dick.
 
Narrow city sidewalks can't be the thoroughfare for Moms with baby carriages,
along with any kind of motorized vehicle. speed delta too great for such confined pathway.
Just how will DMV fix all this ? They will have to, someday,
How many deaths, until someday, is too many ?
 
Without getting political you'd think by now Newsom's cadre would have identified the licensing of E bikes to grab more cash. The folks buying these things are higher income types so there wouldn't be any social backlash.
 
ST Guy said:
The ebikes and motos I see kids riding can easily exceed 40 mph.
Click to expand...
They’re Class 2 bikes that have been hacked via either software flashes or mechanical changes (moving the magnet from the wheel spokes to the back of the left pedal crank arm, for instance, will slow down the effective rotational speed of the magnet. The rear wheel is now turning faster than the pedals, so the regulator thinks it’s providing assistance at a speed below the 20mph limit on a Class 1 bike, for instance.

Here’s an example of the software hack approach for the Super 73. It has pedals and a throttle, so you don’t need to pedal to make it go.
 
I figured they have been hacked in some way. And these ebikes do not have pedals. They are essentially electric motorcycles.
 
My Take Today

Look, I’m the first to admit this whole thing is a huge problem bigger than any one person, bigger than any one forum thread, and definitely bigger than anything we can fix overnight. Most of the “solutions” people talk about are long‑term stuff: laws, culture shifts, training programs, enforcement, all that. And yeah, that’s going to take a long time.

But the one thing that can happen right now today is just speaking up.

Not lecturing.

Not gatekeeping.

Not trying to save the world.

Just saying something before someone gets hurt.

And honestly, that might be a one‑on‑one conversation.

That might be a quick moment with a parent.

That might be a rider you see doing something sketchy.

That might be a kid who doesn’t know any better yet.

If one person steps up and says something and one kid actually listens that’s a win.

Most of us learned the hard way.

Somebody probably did warn us, and we didn’t listen.

Or maybe nobody said anything at all.

Either way, we carry the scars, the surgeries, the regrets, and those “damn, I wish I’d known better” moments.

If one rider, one parent, one neighbor, one forum member says something that keeps one kid out of a trauma bay?

That’s already progress.

A small win.

But a real one.

I believe these conversations are happening, but not mentioned at this point in the discussion.

Lots of good people here on BARF

PaulR
 
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