112
California School Bans Kids' E-Bikes, So They Start Parking Them At The Neighbors' Homes
(www.backyardgardenlover.com)
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
this post was submitted on 01 Sep 2026
112 points (99.1% liked)
micromobility - Bikes, scooters, boards: Whatever floats your goat, this is micromobility
3683 readers
25 users here now
Ebikes, bicycles, scooters, skateboards, longboards, eboards, motorcycles, skates, unicycles, heelies, or an office chair: Whatever floats your goat, this is all things micromobility!
"Transportation using lightweight vehicles such as bicycles or scooters, especially electric ones that may be borrowed as part of a self-service rental program in which people rent vehicles for short-term use within a town or city.
micromobility is seen as a potential solution to moving people more efficiently around cities"
Recall warnings available here.
Feel free to also check out
It's a little sad that we need to actually say this, but:
Don't be an asshole or you will be permanently banned.
Respectful debate is totally OK, criticizing a product is fine, but being verbally abusive will not be tolerated.
Focus on discussing the idea, not attacking the person.
founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
I think it's a bit more complicated than that.
I see these electric dirt bikes everywhere, kids usually aren't wearing helmets, and they're pretty reckless with them. These are "bikes" that do not conform to e-bike standards for riding on the road without licensing. Fun, yes, but an accident waiting to happen. I think the school overreached, and should allow ebikes that conform to legal requirements to ride them unlicensed, but they are fighting a legitimate problem. They should have police there ticketing and impounding the illegal bikes and let the parents sort it out. I'll bet many of the parents don't even know their kids are illegally riding what is effectively a motorcycle, and there is no insurance to cover their liability.
I find statistics about how e-bike accidents have surged by X% irritating. They are often cited by people who want to see them banned, but there is never any context included. How much has ridership itself increased? What percentage of these involved unlicensed e-motos? What proportion of these accidents showed definite fault on the part of the cyclist? How do the figures compare to scooters (e or not), regular bikes, skateboards, inline skates, etc.
I'm not saying there isn't a problem. More regulation/education/infrastructure may be needed if there is an obvious trend in say total hospital visits surging since children got access to e-bikes or e-scooters. But it's never framed that way in articles. They always read that e-bike-related accidents are on the increase. That alone is hardly surprising when they were much less available in the first place a decade ago.
Year 1: 8 ebike injuries Year 2: 24 ebike injuries
Report: EBIKE INJURIES ARE UP 300%!!!!!!!
When I see stats like that it just reminds me how disconnected most people are. I don't doubt for a second that injuries related to them have increased, but many more ebikes/scooters/eucs/etc. are there on the road now vs 4 years ago? I'd be willing to bet it grew by a few million (just from a cursory Google search it claims 4.5-6 million more on the road than in 2022).
It's like how they say '90% of accidents happen within x distance of home'; no shit most the accidents happen where I'm most likely to be.
First of all, I agree that powerful e-motorcycles being misrepresented as bicycles is the vast majority of the problem here.
That said, even legitimate Class 1 and 2 e-bikes aren't legal to operate by people under age 16 in some places.
So enforce the laws and get those illegal e-motos off the road. Also ticket the parents of children who refuse to use a helmet. If it's good enough for Tony Hawk, it's good enough for you.
Injuries involving ebikes increased 430%? Sounds alarming. How much has ebike use increased over that period?
Another interesting statistic would be how frequently kids are out side and/or active.
So we should be mad at the article for not distiguishing
I'd say you should be mad at the school district; they've failed to distinguish and instead put in a blanket ban on electric bikes/scooters of all types, legal or not.
Some kids/parrents break the law and ride unsafely or use devices that exceed legal standards, so nobody gets cheap convenient and efficient transport. - School District
Had the number of affordable ebikes also tossed 430%? I wouldn't be surprised. I hate ebikes but I prefer kids riding those to being in cars.
From a quick search we had like 1.5-2 million ebikes on the road in 2022 and between 6.5-8 million now so I'd say there are around 400% of the total ebikes on the road from 2022, being ridden now. Over the past 4 years the average age of riders seems to be getting lower too... Maybe that is playing into the numbers a bit.
Those are car crashes. The cara hit them, then we blame the bikes
Are you saying that a bicycle can’t be at fault?
I can't speak to what they are or are not saying, but bicycles (electric and manual alike) often get blamed when they are not at fault, that is an undeniable trend.
Clearly it’s a snowboarders fault.