San Diego City Councilman Raul Campillo joined law enforcement and a local Girl Scouts troop Friday to officially begin the city’s education and outreach campaign for electric bike safety. The City Council approved new e-bike regulations in June which impose an age limit of 12 years for Class 1 and 2 e-bikes, essentially making a pedal bike the only bike approved for ages 12 and under. Class 3 e-bikes already require individuals to be 16 years or older to operate. “It’s no secret that e-bike safety has become a growing concern in neighborhoods across our city — young kids doing wheelies on busy streets have demanded our action,” Campillo said. “These regulations were carefully crafted to promote education-first enforcement, allowing us to put children’s safety first while ensuring older youth still have access to safe, affordable transportation options.” The regulations go into effect Thursday, with a 60-day warning and education period before citations are issued, meaning that citations may be issued starting Oct. 12. “Our goal is to keep our kids safe and out of the hospital,” said San Diego Police Commander Ben Kelso. “Local law enforcement and hospitals are seeing a rise in serious e-bike injuries, and this new ordinance establishes clear rules to protect our community. If your child is under 12, the only bike appropriate for them is a traditional pedal bike. We ask all parents to know what they are buying, ensure kids know the rules of the road and are wearing their helmets and join us in keeping our streets safe.” If cited, a person can instead complete an online e-bike safety course within 120 days instead of paying a $25 fine. Parents and guardians would share liability. “The safety of our students is the highest priority of the San Diego Unified School District Police Department,” said SDUSD Assistant Police Chief Manny Del Toro. “We support this effort to improve e-bike safety. “As the school year begins on August 10th, school police will be monitoring adherence to this new ordinance as students travel to and from school. Together, we can make sure our students have a great and safe school year free from dangerous e-bike activity. We ask our district parents help us make sure our students follow these new rules and importantly, for the community to be aware of the start of the school year and the increased pedestrian and bicycle traffic around our schools.” As the use of e-bikes has grown dramatically across California, the number of injuries involving them has grown “exponentially,” according to a report released last month by UC San Diego health researchers. From just two injuries in 2018 to 1,506 in 2024, injuries sustained involving e-bikes are also more likely to be considered moderate to severe as opposed to those involving traditional bicycles. “One of our most concerning findings was the disproportionately high number of injured children involved in e-bike crashes,” said Dr. John Austin, general surgery resident and research fellow at UCSD School of Medicine and first author of the study. “E-bikes provide valuable transportation and recreational benefits, but their higher speeds can generate crash forces more comparable to motorcycles than traditional bicycles, leading to potentially severe injuries. “Families should understand these risks, ensure riders wear properly fitted helmets and provide appropriate supervision and training. Safety education needs to grow as quickly as e-bike adoption and safety is our target for trauma injury prevention and advocacy.” In 2024, county hospitals recorded 865 emergency department visits and 186 hospitalizations related to e-bike-related accidents. Earlier this year, San Diego County officials issued an advisory recommending doctors counsel patients and families on applicable laws, screen for e-bike use during injury visits and well-child visits and encourage safety training programs. The California vehicle code defines e-bikes as: “[A] bicycle equipped with fully operable pedals and an electric motor of less than 750 watts.” It breaks e-bikes into three distinct categories: — Class 1 e-bikes provide “assistance only when the rider is pedaling and ceases to provide assistance when the bicycle reaches a speed of 20 mph”; — Class 2 e-bikes operate “via pedal-assist or throttle and cease to provide assistance when the bicycle reaches a speed of 20 mph”; and — Class 3 e-bikes, provide “assistance only when the rider is pedaling and cease to provide assistance when the bicycle reaches a speed of 28 mph.” State law allows Class 1, 2 and 3 e-bikes to operate on public roadways and bike paths, according to the San Diego Police Department. However, “high-powered electric motorcycles are not street legal,” officials said. “As a pediatric trauma surgeon at Rady Children’s Hospital who cares for injured children every week, I’ve seen how quickly e-bike crashes can change a family’s life,” said Dr. Romeo Ignacio, trauma medical director at Rady. “Setting a minimum age of 12 is a simple, practical safeguard that helps keep our youngest riders safe while still supporting active transportation for older youth.” ...read more read less