HAMILTON, Ohio (WXIX) – Hamilton police are warning parents that e-moto bikes are causing a wave of injuries across the city.
E-moto bikes look like e-bikes, but they are faster, more powerful and illegal on public sidewalks. They are also prohibited on public roads without a license, registration and insurance.
Police said many parents and riders simply don’t know the difference or the danger.
This spring alone, four people have been seriously hurt by e-moto bikes — also called e-dirt bikes — in Hamilton.
“It’s become very dangerous for our pedestrians,” Brian Robinson, assistant chief with the Hamilton Police Department, said.
E-motos are high-powered machines. They can hit speeds above 70 mph, more than double what a standard e-bike can do.
Unlike e-bikes, which are street-legal and built for bike lanes, e-motos require registration and are restricted to private or off-road use. But police say manufacturers and sellers are marketing them as e-bikes, and parents are buying them for their kids — not knowing the difference.
“Parents are buying them thinking they’re like a toy… parents are saying ‘well, it’s no different than giving my child a BMX bike and going out.’ It’s a huge difference,” Robinson said.
Officers said teens and preteens are the ones most often seen weaving through traffic and speeding on sidewalks.
One e-moto rider has already been criminally charged after hitting a pedestrian. Others have been hurt in crashes with cars, often wearing only a helmet.
Council members and business owners said they’re hearing the same concerns. City Council member Joel Lauer said residents are reporting riders on sidewalks, in parks and on roadways.
So how do you spot an e-moto? Look for missing or non-functional pedals. And check the sticker on the crossbar. Anything above 750 watts is not a street-legal e-bike.
Police are starting with education, but Assistant Chief Robinson says enforcement is coming.
“After a certain point, you open yourself up to receiving fines, tickets, having to go to court, and having the vehicle impounded. Even parents — for that younger juvenile — they can be held responsible and also cited for allowing their juvenile to be out without a license on these vehicles,” he said.
Officers said they have seen a lot of young people riding the e-moto bikes to and from school.
Police are now working with local school districts to educate riders.
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