Newsom approves e-bike safety pilot program in San Diego County

A newly-approved bill signed in late September by Gov. Gavin Newsom allows cities within San Diego County, or the county itself, to ban electric bicycles for riders who are younger than 12 years old.

The bill, AB 2234, was written by Assemblymember Tasha Boerner, who is the California State Representative for the 77th District that includes much of coastal San Diego County. She shared that while she is a mother of kids who enjoy using their e-bikes to get around, there needs to be more regulations around how they are used.

“I think it is a great alternative, but what I saw was increasingly younger kids having e-bikes,” she told NBC 7.

The approval of the bill marks the start of a pilot program exclusive to San Diego County that could prohibit kids who are under the age of 12 from operating class 1 and 2 electric bicycles. Under existing law, they are already not allowed to use class 3 e-bikes, so this would ban them from using them altogether. 

“Any city or the county itself can opt into the pilot by passing a local ordinance after Jan. 1,” Boerner said. “They have to have a diversion program and they have to have reporting requirements because we want to get the data from this to make this statewide.” 

It comes after a rapid rise in traffic collisions involving bikes and e-bikes across the state, as well as a handful of deadly crashes around San Diego County. In Carlsbad in 2022, Christine Hawk Embree was killed on Aug. 7 while riding her e-bike with her daughter near the corner of Basswood Avenue and Valley Street in Carlsbad. The following week, on Aug. 15, 68-year-old Solana Beach resident Brad Catcott and two others were seriously hurt when a motorcycle crashed into a bicycle on an ocean-front street in Carlsbad, authorities reported.

Then, in Encinitas last year, 15-year-old Brodee Champlain-Kingman was riding his bike near the intersection of El Camino Real and Santa Fe Drive. The San Diego Sheriff’s Department said he rode into the path of a work van, was hit and was taken to the hospital where he later died.

“We want our kids to get home safe,” Boerner said. 

The pilot program is authorized from Jan. 1 2025, to Jan. 1, 2029. NBC 7 reached out to coastal communities in the region — including Carlsbad and Encinitas — and asked if they would plan to participate in the pilot.

The city of Oceanside referred to the Oceanside Police Department and they have not responded. The city of San Diego said it is too early to know and that they will likely have more information on their consideration in the coming days or weeks. 

Solana Beach Mayor Lesa Heebner sent a statement to NBC 7 that said she “definitely” wants this in front of the city council. She added that, recently, many residents have expressed concern about young e-bike riders not knowing the rules of the road. 

“This Bill could go a long way to ensure a safer experience among e-bike riders, pedestrians and drivers. I’m looking forward to hearing from our community, then deliberating to determine if we’ll opt in to this pilot program,” she wrote. 

The city of Solana Beach shared they also work closely with their school districts to develop education programs on safe usage that would continue as they consider the pilot program.

The city of Encinitas shared a statement with NBC 7 that the bill “aligns with our City’s promoting safe and sustainable transportation options, particularly given the popularity of e-bikes among our youth.” They added they feel the pilot program is an opportunity to “assess the impact of e-bike use by younger kids.” 

They plan to bring an agenda item forward for the city council to consider soon.