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Mill Valley hears county plan to restrict throttle e-bikes for riders under 16 and launch education campaign
Summary
City and county officials told the Mill Valley school board the Marin County AB 1778 pilot will restrict throttle (Class 2) e-bikes for riders under 16, expand helmet rules and pair enforcement with a broad education campaign starting before fall; presenters cited EMS data showing higher e-bike injuries among 10–15 year-olds.
Max Perret, a Mill Valley city council member and the district's liaison, and Talia Smith of the County of Marin presented an overview of a county pilot to reduce e-bike injuries and an associated public education campaign.
Talia Smith, who leads legislative and intergovernmental affairs for the county executive's office, said Marin emergency medical services began tracking e-bike crashes separately in October 2023 and reported alarming trends: "there was a 110% increase" in EMS calls for bicycle-related 9-1-1 responses in a recent period, and "with e-bikes, the accident rate for 10 to 15 year olds was 5 times higher," she told the board.
Why it matters: presenters said severe injuries reported by emergency physicians'including head trauma, internal bleeding and pelvic fractures'prompted local policy action. Mill Valley and other Marin jurisdictions adopted a local ordinance in 2023 that set up a police-run training program as an alternative consequence to court proceedings; AB 1778 is a state-level pilot that allows jurisdictions in Marin to add age limits and other measures.
What the new rules do: under the pilot and local ordinances, Class 2 throttle e-bikes (which can be operated using a handlebar throttle) will be effectively restricted to riders age 16 and older in jurisdictions that opt in. Presenters emphasized the three California e-bike classes'Class 1 (pedal-assist, assist to 20 mph), Class 2 (throttle, assist to 20 mph) and Class 3 (pedal-assist up to 28 mph, 16+)'and said the county is aligning local regulation and enforcement around those definitions. Presenters also said helmet requirements will be emphasized for throttle-capable models at all ages.
Enforcement and education: enforcement will start with warnings and diverting violators to a $100 training program administered in person for kids (with an hour-long online component for parents), rather than immediate citation or juvenile court. The county has launched an "e-bikers club" education campaign with posters, a short video and school materials aimed at middle-school students and parents; campaign images and materials are available at e-bikersclub.com (the site redirects to county resources). Presenters said the campaign will have an initial push before summer and a second rollout for back-to-school.
Questions and concerns: trustees asked whether the ordinance or training program had already reduced accidents; presenters said the education rollout is new and county-level public-health data are not granular enough to show immediate Mill Valley-level effects. The presenters and trustees discussed enforcement practicality on campuses and at shops, the problem of online purchases of non-California-legal models, and a proposal to use color-coded stickers to quickly identify legal Class 1/2/3 bikes as they are parked.
Next steps: presenters said most Marin jurisdictions planned to adopt implementing ordinances in advance of a July 1 implementation date and that the county will track EMS and crash data to measure the campaign's effectiveness; the city and school district will coordinate on back-to-school messaging and a joint city-school board meeting this fall.
Attribution note: some meeting participants were not identified by full name in the transcript; where a speaker name was not provided, the report uses functional labels assigned from the meeting record.
