SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – Law enforcement agencies from across San Diego County are getting the word out about e-bike safety.
“This is about education, safety and protecting our community,” said San Diego Police Department Commander Ben Kelso.
“The faster you go, the harder you fall. It's quite simple physics,” SDPD Officer Nicholas Tamani added.
The message from law enforcement and doctors alike is quite simple: Awareness when it comes to e-bikes, the different types, and safety.
“We're seeing about 10- to 15-fold more injuries than we did in 2018; [in] 2018, we saw a handful. Now, we're seeing several hundred a year,” Dr. Vishal Bansel from Scripps Mercy Hospital said.
“I've personally been responding to more kids involved in serious injury traffic collisions on electric bicycles and more specifically electric motorcycles,” Tamani said.
They’re also warning about the difference between e-bikes, which state law allows Class 1, 2, and 3 e-bikes to operate on public roadways and bike paths, and e-motorcycles, which are illegal to ride on the streets.
“You cannot ride an electric motorcycle, an off-highway electric motorcycle that is in any square inch of the city of San Diego,” Tamani said.
Tamani broke down the difference between the two modes of transportation.
“Electric bicycles have fully functioning pedals like a regular bicycle. And they also have an electric motor, but the motor is a limited amount of power, and all electric bicycles are limited to 750 watts of power,” Tamani said.
“Electric motorcycles, however, have 8 to 15 times more of the power than an electric bicycle, and they can go anywhere from 46 up to even 80 miles an hour. Electric bicycles are limited to 28 miles an hour for the fastest Class 3.”
Tamani also said there are some people who try to put pedal kits on electric motorcycles to give it the look of an electric bike. But those pedals aren’t the same.
The California Highway Patrol said on Monday there were 82 crashes involving e-bikes in San Diego County in 2024. The agency added that 78 of those crashes resulted in injuries.
Law enforcement stressed the importance of the community as a whole coming together to cut down on these injuries related to e-bikes.
“Good public information programs like we're having here, parents that then also take these education programs as well, and uh and uh anyone who rides them,” Bansel said.
“Make sure you educate yourself on whether it's legal, what the rules of the roads are,” Carlsbad Police Chief Christy Calderwood.
"Stop at stop signs, stop at red lights, yield the ride away to other motorists. Don't ride on the sidewalk,” Tamani said.
