Law-enforcement agencies and healthcare professionals from across the county sought to raise awareness Monday of safety issues surrounding the use of electric bicycles and electric motorcycles.
Authorities said in a statement they wanted to highlight “the growing safety concerns and enforcement challenges surrounding the illegal and unsafe operation of electric off-highway motorcycles, often marketed or mistaken for e-bikes.”
State law allows Class 1, 2 and 3 e-bikes to operate on public roadways and bike paths, according to the San Diego Police Department.
However, “high-powered electric motorcycles are not street legal,” officials said.
Not only can electric motorcycles not be registered for street use, they also “lack the required safety equipment and do not meet Department of Motor Vehicles standards for operation on public roads,” officials said. “Riders who operate them in traffic face citations, fines and the impound of their vehicles.”
SDPD Cmdr. Benjamin Kelso said the Monday event was “about education, safety and protecting our communities.”
“Families need to know the difference between a legal e-bike and a high-powered motorcycle that are not street legal to ride,” Kelso said. “These vehicles are putting young riders, drivers and pedestrians at risk.”
Physicians are seeing a rise in serious injuries connected with the electric vehicles “and that is very concerning,” said Dr. Nina Lu, a trauma surgeon at Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla.
Education and awareness “are key because one wrong decision on these machines can change a life forever,” said Dr. Vishal Bansal of Scripps Mercy Hospital.
“Many of patients are children and teenagers who suffer broken bones, head trauma and other preventable injuries,” added Bansal, medical director of trauma at the hospital.
Public safety leaders offered these safety tips for e-bike riders:
— ride in bike lanes, roads or bike paths that allow them;
— don’t ride on crosswalks (which are for pedestrians only), near businesses or on sidewalks;
— ride in the same direction as traffic and use bike lanes when available;
— obey all traffic signs and signals, just as motor vehicle drivers do;
— passengers are only allowed if the e-bike is designed for them; and
— helmets are required for riders under 18 (and for all ages for Class 3 bikes).
More information is at www.sandiego.gov/police/bike-safety.
Along with Scripps Health and SDPD, other agencies that participated in the Monday event were the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office; California Highway Patrol; California State Parks; and the Carlsbad, Chula Vista, Coronado, El Cajon, Escondido, La Mesa, National City, Oceanside and San Diego Harbor and San Diego Unified School District police departments.
–City News Service
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