If you live in San Diego and you're about to hit "Buy Now" on an e-bike for someone who's under 12 years old, stop now. A new California law, AB 2234, will support a ban on children under 12 from riding e-bikes, and it's coming into effect during the first week of 2025.
There are three classes of electric bicycles. Under existing law, a “class 1 electric bicycle” is a bike equipped with a motor that provides assistance only when the rider is pedaling and ceases to assist when the bicycle reaches the speed of 20 miles per hour. A “class 2 electric bicycle” is a bike equipped with a motor that may be used exclusively to propel the bicycle and cannot provide assistance when the bicycle reaches the speed of 20 miles per hour. A “class 3 electric bicycle” is a bike equipped with a speedometer and a motor that provides assistance only when the rider is pedaling, and that ceases to assist when the bicycle reaches the speed of 28 miles per hour.
Existing law prohibits a person under 16 years of age from operating a class 3 electric bicycle.
The new bill, the San Diego Electric Bicycle Safety Pilot Program, will authorize a local authority within the County of San Diego, or the County of San Diego in unincorporated areas, to adopt an ordinance or resolution that would prohibit a person under 12 years of age from operating a class 1 or 2 electric bicycle.
For the first 60 days after the prohibition comes into effect, a violation of the law is punishable by a warning notice, but after this period, it's punishable by a fine of twenty-five dollars ($25). The only way out of the fine is if the parent or legal guardian of the person who violated the prohibition delivers proof to the issuing agency within 120 days after the citation was issued that the person has completed an electric bicycle safety and training program pursuant to Section 894 of the Streets and Highways Code.
So, do a course or pay the fine—a note that's hardly noticeable but mentioned in the bill. Something about this smells of the same "pay us money" e-bike bill that was proposed recently in NYC.
Fatalities have risen on electric bicycles, but that's what happens when more and more people start riding them and there's no update in the infrastructure to accommodate the rise in popularity. It's undeniable that there are plenty of kids riding bikes now who wouldn't be if they weren't e-bikes.
The real question is, is it a problem that can be addressed with infrastructure rather than an outright ban? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
