Tag: biking

With the start of the new school year upon us, the Moraga Police Department wants to ensure that students and their families are aware of the laws regarding the use of E-Bikes. E-bikes are relatively new and the laws governing their use are still evolving at the State level. E-bikes have generated numerous complaints regarding reckless use, particularly by young riders.

E-bikes are defined as a bicycle equipped with fully operations pedals (used to propel the bicycle) and a motor that does not exceed 750 watts of power and they fall into three categories: Class 1, Class 2 and Class 3 and are defined in the California Vehicle Code  (Section 312.5). To help you in identifying which class of E-bike you or your child have or looking to acquire, E-bikes are required to have a label attached which lists the class of E-bike, the top assisted speed and the wattage of the electric motor.

The different E-Bike classes are:

• Class 1 is pedal assisted with an electric motor assisting the rider when pedaling. These bicycles have a maximum speed of 20 MPH which, when reached, the electric motor no longer assists the rider. Young riders must wear a helmet.
• Class 2 is equipped with a throttle controlled electric motor that can assist the rider or exclusively propel the bicycle but not above 20 MPH. Young riders must wear a helmet.
• Class 3 is equipped with a speedometer and an electric motor that assists the rider while pedaling and cannot solely propel, but the bike ceases to assist over 28 MPH. Riders must be at least 16 years or older to ride. Regardless of age, all riders must wear a helmet.

E-bikes are required to follow the same rules of the road as traditional bicycles / vehicles (per the California Vehicle Code Section 21200. Vehicle Code Section 21200 in essence states, “A person riding a bicycle… upon a highway has all the rights and is subject to all the provisions applicable to the driver of a vehicle by this division…”) E-bike riders, as with other car drivers, are responsible for knowing the rules of the road and following them. One rider who didn’t follow the rules of the road abruptly turned in front of an on-coming vehicle without concern, was struck by the vehicle and was injured and was at fault for the collision.

The Moraga Police Department and our neighboring police agencies have seen a spike in E-bike related complaints involving juvenile riders, including riding against or opposite the flow of traffic, passengers riding without a seat, and riding too fast or ‘recklessly’ on sidewalks, forcing pedestrians to move out of the way to avoid a collision and injury. Remember that higher speeds on an E-bike can result in greater injuries to the rider in a crash compared to a regular bicycle.  

Vehicles outside of the description found in the Vehicle Code or E-bikes that have been modified in any way to increase power or speed, have footpegs as opposed to functioning pedals for propulsion are not considered to be E-bikes or bicycles and are not legal to be ridden on streets and are subject to impound in addition to citations for the rider.

For more information about e-bikes, other similar vehicles, and their safe operation, the Town of Danville has created an informational page on their website.  You can view the information at https://danvilletowntalks.org/notmykid. 

Our goal is the overall safety of our community. Please help us to keep kids on E-bikes safe by ensuring that your children ride their E-bikes safely, responsibly and legally. Through these efforts, we can hopefully prevent accidents resulting in injuries to riders and others on the road. We hope our parents/guardians know the importance of ensuring your children understand these rules for their safety while riding with the hope of reducing any potential injuries, or worse, that could result. Officers will be actively enforcing not only vehicular violations, but also violations involving E-Bikes.