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Lake Havasu police outline ramped e‑bike education and stepped-up enforcement after two recent fatalities
Summary
City staff and police presented e‑bike outreach and enforcement data, including school‑based education, speed-study sampling on the channel, rising citations, crash counts and two recent fatalities; council discussed ordinance options, sidewalk restrictions, and distributing safety brochures.
Lake Havasu City leaders described a stepped‑up combination of education and targeted enforcement for electric bicycles after police presented data showing crashes and citations have increased.
City Manager Knudson introduced a new e‑bike safety and education video produced with the police department and the city’s digital media staff. Police presenters described a multi‑pronged approach that prioritized school‑based education, expanded Citizens on Patrol hours and targeted enforcement in problem areas, including the channel.
Captain Williams gave statistics from field speed studies and contacts: in a sample of 96 channel contacts, most riders traveled between 10–20 mph; departmental records show 93 e‑bike field contacts (mostly warnings) from 2024 to date in 2026, 33 crash reports since 2024 (27 injury), and nine citations written year‑to‑date (two in 2024, five in 2025). The department noted two recent fatalities involving e‑bikes.
Council members discussed options including sidewalk restrictions in retail/commercial zones, speed‑based enforcement, helmet requirements and citations scaled to be palatable in court. Several members suggested partnering with local bike shops to distribute the city’s brochure and asked staff to provide the raw enforcement and contact data to the city clerk for council access.
Captain Williams said the department will continue school outreach (third through twelfth grade) and offered to coordinate distribution of a PDF brochure to local cycle shops. Council members asked about tracking repeat offenders and were told the current records management system lacks an easy flagging feature but a new system will improve tracking.
No ordinance change was adopted at the meeting; staff said the city will continue monitoring other Arizona cities’ policy changes and will bring recommendations back to council if needed.
