The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office is speaking out on e-bike safety as they see more young riders who may not understand the rules of the road.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office says they’re noticing a new kind of vehicle becoming popular on roadways: e-bikes.
The number of riders is outpacing the rules being put in place for e-scooters and e-bikes.
Already this year, JSO says there’s been a number of crashes involving e-bikes, including one that turned deadly.
Commander of JSO’s District Two, Rickie Valentine, says his biggest concern is for riders he’s seen as young as 8 or 10 years old on the road, operating e-bikes and e-scooters as trucks and cars pass by, often without any knowledge of how to ride in traffic.
At the moment, there isn’t much regulation on age requirements or safety instruction when it comes to e-bikes.
Valentine said e-bike and e-scooter riders aren’t mandated to have a permit or take a riding class like motorcyclists, and explained that children are able to ride without taking a class or safety course.
“There are some of these that go up to 90 miles an hour,” Valentine said. “The little one-wheel, extreme ones go up to 50 miles an hour. There’s no legislation because all these are brand-new items that are being brought out, the technology and all. They’re coming into our realm now. We’ve got to get ahead of this. But, our No. 1 focus when it comes to that is getting back down to the children’s level because of their skill set.”
Many JSO officers have seen e-bike riders weaving in and out of traffic, Valentine said, using the sidewalk to pass by, and not following the rules of the road that other drivers are complying with.
Valentine explained that he and other officers are concerned with the number of riders who aren’t wearing protective gear and how many inexperienced riders are appearing on busy roads.
He adds that e-bikes are comparable to motorcycles and explains a loophole in the system when it comes to having regulations for riders.
“You’re allowed to be able to pedal it, but then you can go into the electronic mode,” Valentine said. “Now, you’re able to have an assist with that because it’s a motor. That’s our concern, you’re going from being able to exert your own power, making this go 10–12 miles an hour, to now jumping up to 28 miles an hour and not being familiar with that.”
AAA will be at UNF to launch their “Safe Streets for Small Wheels” campaign Thursday at 10 a.m. Their goal is to teach more safety precautions that e-bike riders should take.