Charlotte City Council instructed police to write new rules for electric bikes. Residents voiced worries about safety and mixed-up vehicle labels. Monday’s safety committee meeting tackled possible restrictions on where these machines can go and how to tell low-speed models from high-speed ones.
Councilwoman Dante Anderson chairs the safety committee. She asked Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police to write a proposal that changes city law. This proposal will define different vehicle types and explain how each gets enforced. The committee will review more details before sending it to the full council for a vote.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Cpt. Jeremiah Blow said most e-bikes in his uptown patrol area lack pedals. “Two weekends ago we got a 12-year-old at 1 a.m. on one of these. We called his parents, and they’re like, ‘Well, he’s just on his e-bike,’” Blow said, according to The Charlotte Observer. “So there’s just a lot of confusion among everybody. Everybody uses that term ‘e-bike,’ but they’re really just motorcycles flying up and down the streets.”
Residents in several neighborhoods called these machines a major problem. They cause damage and injuries. Councilwoman Kimberly Owens met with someone who spent days in the hospital after crashing into an electric skateboard on a greenway.
“It’s just a matter of time before a young person in particular gets hurt because many of them are on roadways without helmets or protective gear, and they’re traveling at pretty high speeds,” Anderson said.
Cornelius and Davidson passed local laws since December. Minors must wear helmets. E-bikes need brakes and lamps. The towns also decided that vehicles going over 20 mph count as mopeds. Those exceeding 30 mph are motorcycles. These bikes must be registered and insured.
The nearby towns banned e-bikes from sidewalks unless the driver is a minor or an adult with a minor, or if the nearby roadway has a speed limit above 25 mph. Riders who wreck public or private property face punishment under their laws.
Owens said e-bike safety is what she hears about most from her South Charlotte constituents. She suggested the city partner with Mecklenburg County to keep greenway rules consistent, since the county maintains them.
Councilman Ed Driggs raised concern about enforcement. “I don’t see officers chasing after somebody on an e-bike,” Driggs said, “which is too bad because I see people that look like children whizzing around on these things.”