Colorado police department urges parents to understand e-bike risks, rules, help

E-bikes, e-scooters and e-motorcycles, it can be hard to tell just by looking which type and class your child’s bike is. With the holiday shopping season in full swing, Lone Tree Police Department wants parents to know the risks and the rules that come with each kind of e-bike.

Lone Tree PD has seen an uptick in unsafe e-bike behavior in youth.

Recently, Lone Tree Police asked for the public’s help identifying teens riding e-motorcycles and e-dirt bikes in the Park Meadows area. Police are not looking to get these kids in trouble, but rather have a conversation about safety.

A video shows the teens doing wheelies and riding the e-motorcycles where it is not legal to do so. Joe Deland, operations commander with Lone Tree PD, says scenes like it have become too common on Lone Tree streets.

“As more and more kids are getting access to these e-bikes, we’ve had much more of an issue with kids riding through traffic, doing unsafe things, running red lights,” Deland told CBS Colorado.

While they haven’t cited any kids yet, the police department wants parents to know what is legal and what isn’t.

“Everybody sees this happening,” Deland said. “Everybody wants something done. So we’re trying first with education.”

Class 1 and 2 e-bikes are the only ones allowed on sidewalks and paths. They reach a maximum speed of 20 miles per hour.

Scott Howard, a Lone Tree school resource officer showed CBS Colorado examples of said these vehicle types, demonstrating the difference with two police e-bikes.  

“This is an example of a Class 1. It’s only going to assist you when you’re pedaling,” Howard explained. “This one over here is a Class 2, and it’s going to assist you when you’re pedaling or by throttle.”

Class 3 e-bikes go up to 28 miles per hour and must be ridden by someone 16 years or older on the road or bike lane, not the sidewalk.

“If you’re on a Class 3 bicycle, you must be 16 years old or older, and, if you’re under 18, you have to wear a helmet, by law,” Howard said.

“Those are the ones that we really have an issue with, also the motorcycles and the e-dirt bikes,” Deland said. “If you ride on the paths, or if you’re under the age of 16, you can be cited under state law.”

E-scooters may not be ridden on sidewalks or paths and require registration and a driver’s license.

The same is true for e-motorcycles, which also require insurance, and many are designed for offroad use only.

“The electric motorcycles require a driver’s license, a motorcycle endorsement, insurance and registration. So, in other words, an electric motorcycle is like any other motorcycle on the roadway,” Howard said.

“These are performance machines,” Deland said. “They can reach high speeds and cause really unsafe conditions for everybody.”

Howard says some electric dirt bikes are powerful enough to be considered an electric motorcycle and need to go through a process to become street legal. He says e-motorcycles and e-dirt bikes that are not street safe can be ridden on private property. The city suggests RAM Off-Road Park, Jewell Motocross and Rampart Range.

“There’s offroad riding tracks that are open year-round. There are mountain trails up at Rampart Range. So there are places that you can take one of those and go and enjoy it,” Howard said.

State lawmakers recently passed a law requiring retailers to sell e-bikes with correct labeling for class, speed and wattage, but it is not yet in effect.

“Right now, it’s going to be on the parents to make sure they’re doing their research prior to buying the e-bike,” Deland said.

Lone Tree Police Department hopes education, not citations, will stop behavior like this.

“Our goal is to try to get in touch with these juveniles or their parents, so that we can educate them on the safety concerns that there are with these bikes,” Deland said. “Our ultimate goal is to avoid a tragedy.”