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Police warn parents as eMotos, e-bikes pose safety risks to young riders
Summary
The police chief raised safety concerns about e-bikes and electric motorcycles (eMotos), citing out-of-area fatality and local officers seizing eMotos used by juveniles; the commission noted an existing ordinance and urged parental caution.
The police chief told the commission he is "very concerned about ebikes and eMotos" and described local enforcement challenges, saying some electric motorcycles are not street legal and are being operated by 12– to 14-year-olds at speeds between 30 and 55 mph. He referenced a fatal crash in Sheboygan as a cautionary example and said officers are criminally charging juveniles who flee and seizing the vehicles as evidence.
"We have individuals there are eMotos, which are not e bikes. They're electric motorcycles. They are not street legal... and we have 12, 13, 14 year olds riding these things that go anywhere from 30 to 55 miles an hour," the police chief said, urging parents not to purchase illegal vehicles for children. The chief noted the city has put out information and an ordinance intended to clarify rules for electric personal vehicles.
Commissioners discussed public-safety education and enforcement; no new ordinance language or penalties were proposed at this meeting.
