California is at the dawn of an electric bike transportation revolution. With this surge, however, there’s a growing wave of anger toward “reckless riders” who are perceived as threats to public safety.
Complaints range from riders speeding and ignoring stop signs to kids doing wheelies and generally making drivers and pedestrians uneasy. Every week there’s a new article arguing why this supposed menace needs to be curbed.
According to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office, there were 86 crashes involving e-bikes from early 2020 to July 2023. Headlines like “From 2018 to 2022, crashes involving regular bikes and e-bikes in North County increased nearly 50 percent” paint a dire picture. Yet they ignore that during that same period, biking itself increased by 71 percent. This means that the rate of accidents hasn’t kept pace with the increase in ridership, a testament to San Diego’s improved infrastructure and greater motorist awareness.
Furthermore, of those 86 crashes, 88 percent involved a car or truck.
We’ve normalized the greater danger of cars while fearing the lesser danger of e-bikes. As pedestrians, we habitually check both ways and avoid fast- or high-traffic roads, fully aware that being hit by a speeding vehicle could be fatal.
Now consider which is the real threat: a 28 mph, 50-pound e-bike or a 4,000-pound-plus vehicle capable of over 100 mph.
Three La Jolla Girl Scouts craft e-bike safety presentation for children
E-bikes are replacing cars on our roads — cars that wear down our streets, cause traffic congestion, create noise and light pollution, degrade air quality and pollute waterways with brake and oil dust.
So why don’t more of us bike to improve our communities? Because it feels dangerous. But that threat isn’t from “untrained” bike riders, as many claim. It’s from distracted drivers rushing around in 4,000-pound vehicles that could end your life in an instant.
I don’t blame people for sticking to their cars — they feel safe. But some of us are trying to make our community better. Riding bikes reduces road wear, air pollution and noise, making our neighborhoods quieter and safer for everyone.
Yes, biking has risks, but the real danger lies with car drivers. Let’s focus on the true threat and the negative externalities of our car-dependent world.
I’ve lived in California for 35 years, growing up on a bike and dreaming of a utopian Dutch transportation system. Six years ago, I moved to Pacific Beach and La Jolla, paying a to live in a somewhat bikeable beach community.
I now design and develop e-bikes for Ride1Up. Depending on your perspective, I’m either contributing to a problem or a solution. To me, bikes are more than transportation — they’re a way of life.
Many Americans see bikes as a hobby or an exercise tool. The rise of e-bikes offers a chance to rethink how we get around.
Now let’s talk about a group often criticized — teenagers on e-bikes. Despite the rising number of young riders, the actual threat level remains low, even without strict regulation. We should enforce existing bans on high-speed electric motorcycles on roads, but e-bikes, limited to 28 mph, are a different story.
Teenagers need to get around, and I’d rather deal with reckless teens on e-bikes than in cars. In San Diego County in 2023, about 15 percent of fatal crashes involved drivers ages 16-19, a rate three times higher than other age groups. Yet we view this greater threat as normal because it’s our way of life.
In our hilly community, where cars often speed, e-bikes can actually make teenagers feel safer by allowing them to keep pace with traffic.
Are kids on e-bikes really the problem? There are a few bad actors, as with any group. But the real issue is our car-centric mindset. Instead of condemning and over-regulating e-bikes, let’s address the true threats and embrace a cleaner, safer and more community-friendly mode of transport.
Kevin Dugger is the founder and owner of San Diego-based electric bike company Ride1Up. ♦
