Lynne Martzall, Executive Director of Communications and Intergovernmental Affairs for the city, moderated an e-bike public safety panel consisting of Police Chief Mock, Fire Chief John Whalen and Parks and Recreation Director Rob Hunter.
Olivia Lloyd
olloyd@mcclatchy.com
It looks like e-bikes and electric scooters are here to stay, so now public safety officials must figure out how to regulate them in Coral Springs, where dozens of crashes have happened in the past six months.
Dozens of community members, ranging from families with kids to concerned residents, gathered for the Coral Springs e-bike town hall on March 31.
“The reason we’re doing this town hall is, of course, it was brought forward by our elected officials, but it’s something that is becoming an epidemic, not only in our community, but around the country and around the state,” Fire Chief John Whalen said.
The issue particularly affects minors, as juveniles have made up roughly 70% of the 58 crashes in Coral Springs in the past six months involving electric-powered micromobility devices.
“Unfortunately, because of the wave of popularity of these, they’re being treated more like toys than they are a mode of transportation,” Police Chief Brad Mock said.
The solution for now, until the state legislature decides to regulate the devices further, is enforcement, education and safe riding, the police and fire chiefs said during a panel.
“This is mostly, almost always preventable by following the laws, utilizing the correct equipment, including helmets and things like that, lights, and following the rules of the road,” Whalen said.
For juvenile riders, addressing the issue goes back to educating parents on the devices they’re giving their kids. While some have been responsive, others have not, the police chief said.
“When public safety is continually going out, we have 12-, 13-year-olds laying on a roadway screaming in pain or unconscious, yeah it’s a safety factor,” Mock said.
Law enforcement handed out 3,000 flyers in schools educating kids, administrators and parents about the devices. Police also worked with schools recently to sweep bike racks and found 30 illegal e-motos.
“Parents who knowingly give their child an illegal e-moto to operate can also be charged criminally,” Mock said. “You cannot give a minor without a driver’s license something that is classified by state statute as a motorcycle or a motor vehicle.”
Many of the devices seen on streets are not e-bikes, but rather are e-motos, meaning they aren’t pedal-powered, exceed 28 mph and are over 750 watts. Those devices are regulated like motorcycles, meaning operators must be at least 16, have a driver’s license with motorcycle endorsement and register the bike with a valid license plate.
Mock also discussed an ordinance passed last year regulating e-bikes and e-scooters on sidewalks, limiting them to 25 mph and then 5 mph within 25 feet of pedestrians.
“Look, they’re here. Let’s try to come up with a balance that allows safe operation,” Mock said.
Residents at the town hall said they frequently see kids speeding on e-bikes, weaving in and out of traffic on scooters, and have had close calls nearly hitting riders.
Mock showed a video taken at Coral Ridge Drive and Royal Palm Boulevard of two kids on an e-bike zooming across the intersection while drivers had the green arrow to turn left, forcing drivers to slam on their brakes.
Resident George Halas said just that morning, he encountered an officer on a motorcycle conducting traffic enforcement.
“I said, we wait here just a minute or two, and sure enough, here comes a bike flying down the sidewalk,” Halas recounted. “He was able to pull him over in my development, and actually said the kid had no idea he was doing anything wrong.”
The police chief said sometimes e-bike riders flee when officers try to pull them over. While he made it clear officers won’t pursue them to avoid creating an unsafe chase, those riders could then get in traffic accidents.
One woman, Michelle Lynch, spoke over video about her 19-year-old son, Connor, who was killed by a car while he was riding an e-scooter near the University of South Florida in Tampa. She said the driver wasn’t cited with an improper left turn.
“When I asked the investigating officer why, he told me Connor wasn’t where he was supposed to be,” Lynch said. “As you can imagine, what any grieving mom might ask is, ‘Well, where was he supposed to be?’ I was met with an answer of uncertainty.”
Riders are confused as well. One speaker at the town hall, who identified herself only as Sharon, said she was riding her e-bike when she was involved in a crash in Margate.
“With the price of gas, I like riding my e-bike,” she said. “But I don’t know where to ride it.”
Florida House Rep. Dan Daley discussed a recent bill at the state level that sets rules for maximum speeds on sidewalks, establishes a task force to recommend amendments to state law and requires local law enforcement agencies to maintain data about electric device crashes.
“This issue has seen specific attention from the legislature,” he said.
Coral Springs News
Olivia Lloyd is an Associate Editor/Reporter for the Coral Springs News, the Pembroke Pines News and the Miramar News. She graduated from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. Previously, she has worked for Hearst DevHub, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and McClatchy’s Real Time Team.
