If you ask police officers, school administrators or parents in Gilroy about e-bikes, you’ll likely hear the same response: They’re becoming one of the biggest public safety challenges facing our community.
Not because e-bikes are inherently dangerous. It’s because too many riders are treating them like toys instead of vehicles.
Anyone who spends time near our schools, through downtown or around Gilroy’s parks has probably witnessed it—young riders blowing through stop signs, racing across intersections, riding against traffic, carrying passengers on bikes designed for one person or performing wheelies in traffic.
Fortunately, most trips end without incident. But that’s a dangerous way to measure success.
One mistake by a rider—or one split-second decision by a driver who doesn’t anticipate an e-bike traveling 25 or 30 mph—can change lives forever.
According to Gilroy Police Chief Brandon Sanchez, police have seen an “uptick in e-bike usage.”
Gilroy’s public safety officials are advising juvenile riders and their parents to get caught up on the rules of the road, and to follow them whether on two wheels or four.
Bicyclists and e-bikers are required to follow the same traffic laws as vehicles. Riders younger than 18 must wear helmets, all Class 3 riders must wear helmets and Class 3 riders must be at least 16 years old.
High-powered electric motorcycles marketed as “e-bikes” often don’t qualify as bicycles at all and may require registration and licensing.
And police emphasized the following safety rules and precautions:
• Always wear a properly fitted helmet
• Ride only e-bikes that are legal to operate on public roadways
• Obey traffic laws, traffic signals and stop signs
• Stay alert and avoid distractions while riding.
The real challenge isn’t writing another ordinance. It’s building a culture of responsibility.
Parents have to be the first teachers. Before buying an e-bike, they should understand exactly what they’re purchasing. Some models sold online can travel far faster than California allows for legal e-bikes. Parents should insist on helmets, prohibit passengers, discourage phone use while riding and make it clear that stop signs and red lights aren’t optional.
Schools should become partners as well. Just as students learn about driving before getting behind the wheel of a car, they should receive instruction on safely operating an e-bike. A one-hour safety course at the beginning of every school year could prevent countless injuries.
Police departments should continue focusing on education as much as enforcement and Gilroy police are doing just that.
“We have done an e-bike education campaign regarding the rules and safety considerations and a few months ago our traffic unit did a town hall meeting at Brownell Middle School specifically addressing e-bikes,” said Sanchez. “We will be doing another round of education closer to the start of school.”
He also said enforcement is part of the solution.
“We will be doing more enforcement for e-bikes in the near future,” he said.
Safety rodeos, demonstrations, school presentations and periodic enforcement details around campuses send a consistent message without criminalizing young riders. The goal isn’t to hand out tickets. It’s to prevent a crash that never should have happened.
Finally, riders themselves need to recognize a simple fact: An e-bike isn’t just a bicycle with a battery. At 20 or 28 mph—and sometimes much faster if illegally modified—it carries enough speed and weight to cause serious injury.
Gilroy has always found success when schools, parents, law enforcement, local government and residents work together to solve problems. E-bike safety should be no different.
We don’t need to become known as the community that wrote the toughest ordinances. We should become known as the communities that created the safest riders.
That would be a legacy worth passing on to the next generation.
