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Council discusses e-motorcycle safety after crashes; police urge education, possible path ban
Summary
Police described a summer of crashes and near-misses involving powerful electric motorcycles (often called "e-bikes" by owners) and urged the council to pursue education, signage and targeted enforcement. Council asked staff to draft a public survey and consider banning electric motorcycles from pedestrian paths.
Chief Goodrich, North Logan police chief, told council members the department handled an unusually high share of priority calls this week and has seen a rising number of incidents involving electric motorcycles that are not street legal.
Goodrich described the vehicles his department is calling "electric motorcycles": off-highway machines with motors in the 2,5002,700-watt range, throttles, foot pegs and the torque to reach high speeds. He said most of those machines lack turn signals, mirrors, horns and license plates and are therefore not street legal.
"If an electric motorcycle is considered street legal, it has the mirrors, it has the turn signals, it has a horn, it has disc brakes, it's registered and has a license plate, has insurance on it...If it's considered street legal, the rider has to have a Class D operator license and a motorcycle endorsement," Goodrich told the council.
The police chief described a July crash at Wolfpack Way in which an operator estimated at 3540 mph left a long skid mark before a collision; Goodrich said the operator in that incident was 13 years old. He said the vehicles often travel in packs, perform wheelies, and sometimes flee from officers when asked to stop. That combination complicates enforcement, Goodrich said.
"It's a matter of time until we have a kid that's seriously injured in it," he said, describing why the department wants a mix of outreach and enforceable local rules.
Council discussion and proposed measures: Council members and staff discussed options including 1) a targeted education campaign for parents and schools, 2) signage and enforcement to prohibit electric motorcycles on walking and multiuse paths, 3) local ordinances to clarify age limits and riding locations, and 4) public workshops or a survey to gather community input before adopting new ordinances.
Chief Goodrich and other staff recommended a multi-step approach: distribute clear educational materials through schools and the city newsletter, use a short public survey to understand resident preferences, host a public workshop to discuss draft ordinance options, and prioritize removing electric motorcycles from paved pedestrian paths and sidewalks where pedestrian traffic is greatest.
Next steps: Council members asked Alan and Chief Goodrich to draft a survey and to hold a public outreach workshop that would include an educational component. Several council members supported immediate steps to prohibit electric motorcycles on city walking paths and to increase outreach to parents and schools.
Ending: Council voted to have staff draft a survey and plan a public workshop; no ordinance was adopted at the meeting.
