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Sheriff tells Underwood council Iowa law treats e‑scooters and e‑bikes as bicycles; proposes school partnership for safety education
Summary
Pottawattamie County Sheriff Jim Doty briefed the council that Iowa classifies e-scooters and e-bikes as bicycles and discussed reviving bike-safety education with Underwood Community Schools; the council agreed to pursue committee follow-up and collaboration with the school superintendent.
Sheriff Jim Doty told the Underwood City Council on July 13, 2026, that Iowa law treats e-scooters and e-bikes as bicycles and reviewed past bicycle-safety programming, including annual bicycle rodeos for elementary and middle school students. Doty noted the Underwood Optimist Club continues a spring bike-and-helmet event and said the city administrator had contacted Underwood Community Schools Superintendent Andy Irwin, who expressed interest in collaborating on public‑education for students.
Why it matters: with more people using e-scooters and e-bikes, the council and sheriff described safety education as a way to reduce crashes and improve compliance with traffic rules. The council agreed to set up further discussions and committee meetings to explore coordinated outreach and education with schools and community partners.
The discussion was informational; no ordinance, code change, or enforcement action was adopted at the meeting. Sheriff Doty left the meeting after presenting the topic, and councilors instructed staff to organize follow-up meetings with the streets committee and the school superintendent as appropriate.
