On Wednesday, the San Diego City Council's Public Safety Committee unanimously recommended a set of e-bike regulations intended to protect children for consideration by the full city council in coming weeks.
If passed by the full council, the new regulations would prohibit those under 12-years-old from riding class 1 or 2 e-bikes and would allow passengers only if the bicycle has a dedicated seat.
Councilman Raul Campillo authored the regulations. He thanked both his committee colleagues and Assemblywoman Tasha Boerner, D-San Diego, who wrote Assembly Bill 2234 setting the age limit at 12 for San Diego County cities.
"What we're proposing are clear, enforceable standards that will curb dangerous driving and result in safer streets for everyone," Campillo said. "We need more common-sense legislation like this that will result in more protected and vibrant communities across the city."
If approved, a month-long outreach campaign would begin, and an "education-first enforcement" model would be created to provide information to children and families.
"I applaud the city of San Diego for taking e-bike safety seriously and prohibiting children under the age of 12 from riding e-bikes," said Sen. Catherine S. Blakespear, D-Encinitas. "Youths who lack maturity and training on road safety and rules should not be driving high powered, motorized vehicles. E-bikes are an important part of a modern bicycling landscape and common-sense guardrails like this one need to be adopted."
Last year, both the cities of Carlsbad and Chula Vista also used AB 2234's new guidelines to put an age cap on the operation of electronic means of transport such as e-bikes.
"When I authored AB 2234, I envisioned communities using this new tool to protect those on the road, especially children," Boerner said. "E- bikes are a great alternative mode of transportation. However, with the surge of e-bikes across San Diego, we've witnessed accidents occur more frequently and with greater severity, even resulting in deaths.
"As a mom with children who ride e-bikes, I worry daily about them coming home safely. Councilmember Campillo's leadership on this ordinance represents a decisive step towards preventing harm to our youth and making our streets safer for children and families sharing the road."
In the last month, at least three San Diego County residents were seriously injured when struck by vehicles while they rode e-bikes.
"E-bike safety has become a growing concern in neighborhoods across our city," San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said. "SDPD fully supports regulations that provide clear, reasonable rules to allow officers to address unsafe behavior while keeping education at the forefront."
