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.”

The Colorado Bureau of Investigation has issued an endanagered missing person alert for a 20-year-old Northern Colorado woman who has been missing since Nov. 30.

Kaylee Russell was last seen at 6 p.m. Nov. 30 and her last known location was near the Loveland/Johnstown Park-N-Ride at Colorado Highway 402 and Interstate 25.

She is listed as white, 5-feet-6 inches, 125 pounds with brown/blue eyes. She was last seen wearing a black hoodie, tan pants and brown slippers. Her vehicle is a 2016 black Tiguan Volkswagon with Colorado license plate 7880903.

Law enforcement said if seen to call 911 or the Evans Police Department at 970-350-9600.

GENESEE, Colo. — Colorado lawmakers passed a bill into law earlier this year that could help drivers chain up along the Interstate 70 mountain corridor during the winter months.

The passage of Senate Bill 25-069 created a permit system for private companies to sell and install tire chains or other traction devices to motorists at designated roadside sites. The permits would be issued by the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT).

But there are still questions surrounding whether the program has been implemented or what the roll out looks like, leaving drivers struggling with tire chains on their own during Wednesday’s storm.

“Your hands get cold, they start cramping up, and everything like that… so not too much fun,” said Kane Hulseman, who Denver7 met in Genesee, putting on tire chains just off of I-70.

When asked about driving conditions on I-70 Wednesday afternoon, Hulseman described the interstate as “pretty slick.”

Denver7 asked CDOT about the status of the program, but the agency did not provide information about whether any private companies have applied for permits.

Meanwhile, Denver7 met with Charlie Stubblefield of Mountain Recovery Towing, who emphasized the importance of tire chains for winter driving safety.

“Chains are just unbelievably important,” said Stubblefield. “I don’t think anybody realizes just how make or break of a deal that really is.”

While Stubblefield supports the concept of designated chain installation sites, he stressed the immediate need for them.

“We can’t have enough people out there getting trucks chained up and all that kind of stuff, and manning those chain stations, he said.

Similar programs already exist in California, Washington and Oregon.

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Denver7’s Claire Lavezzorio covers topics that have an impact across Colorado, but specializes in reporting on stories in the military and veteran communities. If you’d like to get in touch with Claire, fill out the form below to send her an email.

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