ORLANDO, Fla. — The Orange County School Board and Orange County Commissioners are working to put safety rules on the books as more people use electric bikes and electric scooters. They say there are too many accidents with no formal safety or enforcement rules in Orange County.
What You Need To Know
Orange County officials are looking to develop new safety regulations for e-scooters and e-bikes
Proposed measures include mandatory helmet use for younger riders, minimum age limits, speed limits, and lighting requirements
The process to implement a formal ordinance may take several months
Orange County Commissioners are focusing on a formal ordinance, which could take several months to enact, and some short-term solutions to get safety policies rolling out.
Commissioner Nicole Wilson says that across Central Florida too many people are getting hurt while riding or getting struck by e-scooters and e-bicycles. She says some riders are traveling 20 to 30 miles per hour.
“We need to make sure that they are equipped, that they know what they’re doing and that the public, the people who are sharing that space with them, are also protected,” she said.
Wilson is proposing the county do research and then put new policies in place countywide for e-scooters and e-bikes. She is suggesting:
Mandatory helmet use for younger riders
Minimum age limits to use the devices
Speed limits for sidewalks, bike lanes and streets
Requiring lighting and reflectors at night
“On the trails, on bike paths, on pedestrian thoroughfares, they’ve seen some accidents. There’s been some issues,” she said.
Noah Cohen, a sophomore at UCF, doesn’t have a car, so he uses an e-scooter to get to classes. Though he does not typically wear a helmet.
“It works for me. It gets me from point A to point B,” he said. “Eight to ten minutes is usually the absolute tops for even getting across the campus if I need to.”
Cohen drives carefully, but there have been a few times when cars did not see that he had the walk sign at crosswalks. He recently got a big scare with a hard thump.
“I was crossing a parking lot, and they turned in, and I couldn’t slow down in time,” he said. “I ended up kind of on the hood of their car, but no one was hurt or anything.”
Cohen admits he should be wearing a helmet, and he encourages younger riders to wear one wherever they are rolling.
“It takes one fall on some concrete or cement and your life could be altered completely,” he said.
An Orange County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson sent Spectrum News statement, saying e-bikes are safe as long as riders are educated and operating them lawfully.
“When people are operating these e-bikes lawfully, they are safe,” the statement said. “Our priority is always education, as we believe that if we can help people build good habits and ride legally, that makes it safer for everyone.”
Wilson estimates it will probably take several months to put a new ordinance in place, so she hopes new signs and education programs can promote safety soon.
“We’re really, really working toward safety. That’s the number one priority,” she said.
