WINDBER, Pa (WJAC) — As electric bicycles or e-bikes continue to grow in popularity, officials say some have been involved in traffic accidents, prompting one local borough to begin cracking down on the legality of riding them on the roadway.
Windber Borough Police Chief Andrew Frear says his department is trying to get the word out before somebody is seriously injured or even killed in an e-bike related accident.
Chief Frear explained that a recent accident involving a bike and a car resulted in the 13-year-old bike rider being ticketed for running a red light.
He further explained that under the Pennsylvania traffic statutes, only pedal assisted e-bikes are street legal.
Chief Frear adds that the bigger problem is that the much faster e-bike often resemble mini-bikes or dirt bikes, and can reach speeds in excess of 40 mph.
Under state law, authorities say those bikes cannot be operated on public roads.
“They’re coming down on sidewalks, coming down on roads, they are not as visible. It’s just a matter of time until a child gets hit on one of these electric vehicles and gets killed. And then we’re going to be the ones that people are going to be screaming at because we didn’t do something about it,” said Chief Frear.
Local e-bike seller Andy Banik also offered some commonsense advice on sharing the road with bikers.
“When you’re riding on the roads, it’s very important to give the person that’s riding the bike on the road at least four feet. That’s all you need; you don’t have to cross the outline, you don’t have to go into the other lane; when you’re driving, just give them four feet.”
Pennsylvania law also requires that riders must be 16 years old to operate a pedal assisted e-bike and helmets are mandatory.