These Bay Area Researchers Say the E-Bike Problem May Be an E-Moto Problem

As the popularity of e-bikes surges across California, the number of doppelgangers, like e-mopeds and e-motorcycles, capable of reaching speeds beyond legal limits, complicate efforts to improve safety and reduce related accidents, according to a recent report commissioned by the California Legislature.

In Exploring Electric Bicycle Safety Performance Data and Policy Options for California, published by the Mineta Transportation Institute at San José State University, researchers sought to provide recommendations to state lawmakers that would expand e-bike use and protect public safety.

But as researchers studied the safety risks of riding e-bikes relative to other modes of travel, they encountered a “major stumbling block”: It’s highly likely that many of the electric bicycles involved in crashes aren’t legal e-bikes, but rather would be classified as e-motorcycles and e-mopeds, which can reach speeds of around 38 mph, according to Asha Weinstein Agrawal, a professor of urban and regional planning at SJSU and one of the report’s authors.

“ There are all kinds of devices out there, and some of them fit California’s very specific legal definition of what an e-bike is, but many of them don’t,” Agrawal said.

E-bikes in California are divided into three categories: Class I, II and III, based on the motor’s maximum speed (20 or 28 miles per hour) and how the rider engages the motor, either by pedaling or using a throttle.

Agrawal said the classification issue makes any data on e-bike collisions far from perfect.

“All kinds of devices that are probably not legal e-bikes are getting classified as e-bike crashes,” she added.

The report is a result of SB 381, a 2023 bill introduced by Rep. Dave Min, an Orange County Democrat, who at the time was a state senator.

“E-bikes are convenient and play an important role in helping to reduce carbon emissions,” Min wrote in a legislative analysis of the bill. “But, the rise in the popularity and use of e-bikes also creates new challenges, which requires us to rethink the rules that keep our roads safe. It is imperative that we get this right for e-bike enthusiasts of all ages, and also for the local communities looking to the state for guidance.”

Min did not respond to an interview request about the SJSU report.

The findings include analysis of hospital data on e-bike crashes, injuries and deaths, but Agrawal acknowledged that this data “probably show us much higher numbers than are actually out there,” because the people reporting data in hospitals “don’t have a precise definition of what an e-bike is.”

Data quality issues aside, the report found that e-bike crashes, injuries and fatalities are less common than incidents involving conventional bicycles. The report analyzed California emergency room data from 2023 and found that for each reported e-bike injury, there were nine times more people injured by conventional bikes and 60 times more people injured in motor vehicle incidents.

When e-bike injuries do occur, riders have somewhat more severe outcomes than those on conventional bicycles on average, and people injured and killed on e-bikes tend to be older than those in incidents with conventional bicycles, according to the report.

Bob Mittelstaedt, co-founder of the e-bike advocacy group E-bike Access, called these high-powered devices “e-motorcycles.” He said safety concerns associated with these e-motos lead to “bike-lash,” or whiplash, against e-bikes.

Last year, Mittelstaedt conducted surveys of the kinds of e-bikes parked at 19 different middle and high schools in Marin and San Mateo County. His findings, in coordination with the San Mateo County Office of Education Safe Routes to School Program, showed that 88% of the electric devices parked at schools did not comply with California’s three-class system for e-bikes, meaning they had more power than legally allowed, and more closely resembled e-motorcycles or e-mopeds.

“It’s not just a technical, legal issue. It’s a matter of literally life and death for these kids,” said Mittelstaedt, who owns two e-bikes himself, and whose work was featured in the state report.

Last year, Marin County began enforcing a pilot program that bans children under 16 years old from operating a class II e-bike, after a reported rise in e-bike crashes among youth in the county. County officials and public health professionals in Marin County have brought attention to a spike in e-bike-related crashes in the county in recent years.

The crux of efforts to address e-bike safety lies in the classification of e-bikes and related devices, said Ash Lovell, vice president of government relations at People for Bikes, the trade association for the bicycle industry in the United States.

“Our main offensive state-level policy priority right now is defining what is not an e-bike,” Lovell said.

People for Bikes is developing model legislation that would define and regulate an e-motorcycle, and legislators from 15 states, including California, have expressed interest, Lovell said.

The SJSU report makes several recommendations aimed at improving safety — including restrictions on the capabilities of e-bikes sold in the state, driver’s license requirements for e-motos or e-mopeds, disclosure requirements for retailers and producing more high-quality bicycle infrastructure in the state.

“ I strongly believe we should allow e-bikes,” Agrawal said. “But we need to clarify what we mean by e-bike and define it in a way that is safe for everybody to ride.”