From Cloverdale to Petaluma, public safety and school officials are sounding a louder message for youth riding e-scooters or e-bikes: Follow the rules or pay the price.
“It’s been like pulling teeth to get kids and parents to follow the rules,” said Tim Mattos, Rohnert Park Interim Chief of Public Safety.
Under California law, to ride an e-scooter you must be 16, have a valid driver’s learning permit issued by the state DMV and wear a bicycle helmet if under the age of 18.
A boy pops a wheelie while riding an electric bike outside Target in Petaluma Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (Beth Schlanker / The Press-Democrat)
A girl rides an electric bike on College Avenue in Kentfield, Calif. on Wednesday, March 26, 2025. E-bike users aren’t required to have a driver’s license, but riders under 18 must wear a helmet. (Sherry LaVars/Marin Independent Journal)
A boy rides an electric bike on College Avenue in Kentfield, Calif. on Wednesday, March 26, 2025. E-bike users aren’t required to have a driver’s license, but riders under 18 must wear a helmet. (Sherry LaVars/Marin Independent Journal)
A bicyclist rides a motorized e-bike along the Iron Horse Regional Trail in Danville, Calif., on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
A bicyclist rides a motorized e-bike in Danville, Calif., on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group
A bicyclist rides a motorized e-bike through a pedestrian walkway at a shopping center in Danville, Calif., on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
Local school and law enforcement officials are tackling teen use of e-scooters and e-bikes through education and enforcement as they grow more popular. (Andriy Bilous / Shutterstock)
Christopher Chung/The Press Democrat
Bird electric scooters are available to rent in downtown Santa Rosa on Friday, July 1, 2022. (Christopher Chung/The Press Democrat)
A student rides their electric scooter through campus at the University of California, Davis on Oct. 3, 2023. Photo by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters
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A boy pops a wheelie while riding an electric bike outside Target in Petaluma Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (Beth Schlanker / The Press-Democrat)
Citations for those found to violate the law range from $200 to $400, with a mandatory appearance in juvenile traffic court.
Mattos said that despite two years of education and citation efforts, the number of underage teens riding e-scooters on Rohnert Park streets has only increased, putting legal riders and pedestrians in danger.
“It’s not the department’s job to parent your child,” he said. “We’re going to cite you.”
Mattos’ department is not alone.
Departments countywide have issued warnings and stepped up enforcement after authorities say they’ve witnessed an uptick in incidents involving teens, including crashes in Sonoma and Petaluma. Their efforts also align with a new state law that allows law enforcement to confiscate e-scooters, should riders use them illegally.
What’s the difference between an e-bike and e-motorcycle?
What is an e-bike?
E-bikes are bicycles with a battery-powered electric motor that gives the cyclist assistance.
E-bikes have pedals.
Most e-bikes reach a maximum speed of 2o miles per hour.
Some e-bikes have throttles that allow users to regulate their speed.
Users aren’t required to have a driver’s license, but riders under 18 must wear a helmet.
E-motorcycle riders are seen on a pedestrian/bike path in Novato, Calif. on Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (Sherry LaVars/Marin Independent Journal)
What is an e-motorcycle?
E-motorcycles are high-powered, two-wheeled electric vehicles that resemble e-bikes.
E-motorcycles do not have pedals.
Most e-motorcycles exceed 20 miles per hour, often reaching 50 mph.
E-motorcycles are classified as motor vehicles and require registration, insurance and licensing for road use.
E-motorcycles are often banned on bike paths.
Countywide issue
Use of e-scooters and e-bikes has spiked in recent years throughout Sonoma County, with students gravitating to both as alternative modes of getting to and from school.
“I love the idea more than (teens) driving a car,” Windsor resident Jenny Feuerherdt said. “I’m going to try to talk my teen into using an e-bike instead of getting a car.”
While some students might be riding responsibly, some Sonoma County residents and drivers have reported near-crashes with teens on the two-wheeled vehicles.
Rohnert Park resident Ken Kessler told The Press Democrat that he has “almost been hit numerous times by kids” on both. “Many,” he observed, “do not obey traffic rules.”
Windsor Unified School District Superintendent Jeremy Decker told his school board during a December 2025 meeting that “we see e-scooters being ridden by 9, 10, 11-year-olds all the time.”
In Sebastopol, parents report seeing middle school students riding e-scooters on sidewalks without helmets.
Sebastopol resident Anthea Peck said she sees “several kids around town” riding e-scooters, “weaving in and out of traffic, going too fast with their helmet on the handle bar instead of their head.”
Cloverdale residents also are frustrated with illegal e-scooter use.
Elsa Castellano-Halbach of Cloverdale said she sees teens riding e-scooters and e-bikes “on city sidewalks, usually at max speeds. Most kids … do not look old enough to have a driver’s license.”
A series of crashes have spotlighted the risks for youth.
In June 2025, two Petaluma teens were injured when they lost control while attempting to perform a wheelie on an e-bike. The bike they were on collided with a parked truck. The teens were cited for operating motorized vehicles without a license and failing to provide proof of insurance.
In November in Sonoma, a minor riding an e-scooter was hospitalized after crashing into a moving car at a four-way stop at the intersection of Robinson Road and Fano Lane. The boy, who was under 18, was traveling at a high speed and not wearing a helmet when he failed to stop at the well-marked intersection and struck a vehicle, authorities said.
As use of e-scooters and e-bikes grows, the number of reported yearly injuries is spiking. E-scooter injuries have increased by more than 45% every year, going from 8,566 in 2017 to 56,847 in 2022, according to data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System. E-bike injuries have more than doubled every year, going from 751 in 2017 to 23,493.
The study, which was published in 2024, found that fractures, followed by contusions and abrasions, are the two most common injuries. Upper and lower limbs are most frequently involved in injuries, as well as the head and neck. Most e-scooter and e-bike crashes occurred between May and October.
In Santa Rosa, crashes involving e-scooters grew from 33 in 2023 to 80 in the first 10 months of 2025, according to data from the the police department. The number of crashes involving e-bikes also has increased from one in 2023 to nine through last October.
Most police departments have stuck to warnings in their enforcement, but those messages have grown more terse.
Mattos agreed with resident observations, saying, “it is evident that many juveniles riding electric scooters in the city … do not meet this requirement and are therefore subject to citation.”
Citations can be issued for failing to wear a helmet, riding on a sidewalk and riding faster than 15 miles per hour.
Mattos said he’s not trying to play “bad cop.” The rules are “to keep all children safe,” he said, appealing to parents and caregivers. “We ask for your partnership in ensuring that your children comply with electric scooter laws, wear appropriate safety equipment and follow all bicycle regulations.”
In lieu of citations, Windsor Police Chief Greg Piccinni began an education and enforcement campaign last holiday season after the department “received concerns from some community members about teens operating motorized bikes and scooters,” he said.
The goal of the campaign was to educate the community, Piccinni said, especially as families were set to buy gifts for their teens.
The police department also worked with the school district to ban the use of e-scooters and e-bikes on the district’s two elementary campuses and prohibit their use once a student is on the middle or high school campuses.
Cloverdale Police Chief Chris Parker said the department is using a combination of enforcement and ongoing education efforts to tackle illegal use of the vehicles after experiencing “a noticeable increase in complaints and safety concerns involving e-bikes and e-scooters, particularly among teens.
“That said, we still encounter violations involving illegal or improperly modified devices, unsafe riding behaviors, and lack of compliance with state law,” he said.
Petaluma police are issuing citations, as well. Last month the police department cited a teen riding an e-motorcycle at Target for driving without a license, failing to provide proof of insurance and not wearing a helmet.
“We understand there are limited places locally to ride these vehicles, but riders are still responsible for following the law,” Petaluma police officials said in a press release. “Parents, please help keep our community safe by educating yourself and your children on the rules of the road.”
Officers with the Santa Rosa Police Department in recent months also have targeted young riders using electric bicycles after an uptick in reports of reckless driving.
Capt. Dan Marincik, in an October report to a Santa Rosa council working group that provides input on public safety policies, said as e-bike use has gone up so have complaints of riders weaving in and out of traffic, not following traffic laws and excess speeding, particularly around neighborhood parks and middle schools.
The department launched a social media campaign in October to educate community members about safety requirements and proper use and partnered with the Santa Rosa City Schools to send educational material to students and families.
Officers also have conducted targeted enforcement around middle schools, issuing warnings to riders not following the rules, Marincik said, and new state law gives officers the ability to impound bikes in certain cases.
Staff writers Paulina Pineda and Amelia Richardson contributed to this report.
Amie Windsor is the Community Journalism Team Lead with The Press Democrat. She can be reached at amie.windsor@pressdemocrat.com or 707-521-5218.
