HomeMy WebLinkAbout111225-04.1 ALAN KALIN CORRESPONDENCE (1)
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“E-Moto” Safety Assessment
San Ramon Valley Unified School District
November 1, 2025
These Are Not Bicycles — They Are Electric Motorcycles
Diablo Vista Middle School (photo)
Executive Summary – Rising E-Moto Crisis in Local Middle Schools
On October 30, 2025, volunteers from Danville Safety Advocates and E-Bike Access conducted
a field survey across seven middle-school campuses in the San Ramon Valley Unified School
District (SRVUSD). The findings were stunning: more than 200 high-powered, throttle-assisted
electric motorcycles (“E-Motos”) were parked in student bike corrals and ridden by children as
young as 11.
At Stone Valley Middle School alone, 71 E-Motos were counted compared to only 11 traditional
bicycles — a dramatic shift that reflects how quickly this trend is expanding.
These throttle-activated electric two wheelers are not bicycles. Because their motors are larger
that 750watts and/or capable of providing-assistance above 20mph – the legal limits for throttle
(class 2 e-bikes), they are motor vehicles. They require DMV registration, insurance, safety
equipment such as mirrors and turn signals, and a valid driver’s license.
Yet these machines are being marketed and sold to families as “e-bikes,” leading parents and
students to believe they are legal for middle-school use. TV News Story - 70 E-motos at Stone
Valley Middle School
Eleven- to thirteen-year-olds are operating these machines daily in middle school zones, on
sidewalks, along community trails – without licenses, training, or legally required safety
equipment. Despite repeated warnings, school outreach, police advisories, and growing
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community concern, the trend is NOT slowing. It is accelerating across at least four SRVUSD
middle schools.
Key Findings
E-Motos are no longer a fringe issue or temporary trend – they are rapidly becoming a primary
mode of transportation for middle-school students in our community. Without coordinated
intervention, numbers will continue to rise, and the risk – to children, pedestrians, cyclists, and
drivers – will escalate. This problem is not isolated to one campus. Counts of out-of-class (E-
motos) at middle schools in the SRVUD:
Every trend line points upward. Education alone is not working. Assemblies are not working.
Warnings are not working. Despite repeated school outreach and advisories from law
enforcement, the number of high-powered E-Motos on middle-school campuses continues to rise
at an accelerating pace. The situation will not improve on its own. Because schools are giving the
appearance of condoning this illegal conduct, it will only grow.
What is now happening each morning across our school district is unprecedented : campuses
are being used as informal staging areas for unregistered motor vehicles operated by minors
without licenses, without legal right of operation, and often without helmets. These machines
move quickly through congested pedestrian environments where young children walk, parents
drop off students, and school traffic is at its peak.
Injury data already shows that children between 10 and 15 are five times more likely to be
injured on these devices than any other age group. We are approaching a public-safety breaking
point, where a serious injury or fatality is no longer a hypothetical risk but an inevitable
outcome. It is, however, preventable if we act now.
The data is now clear, undeniable, and urgent. We call on this community to shift from
awareness to action, from platitudes about safety to concrete solutions. Inertia and buck-passing
must be replaced by a productive partnership among schools, law enforcement, and local
government. Schools, law enforcement, and local government must establish clear policies,
enforce existing laws, and act decisively to protect children and the public. It’s not just a matter
of whether children under 16 can ride these vehicles.
They are illegal for anyone of any age to operate on public streets and sidewalks. Schools should
not accommodate them. Retailers must stop marketing them as e-bikes -bicycles. Parents should
recognize that it is a crime for them to endanger their children or to allow unlicensed juveni les to
drive motor vehicles including e-motos.
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Law enforcement must learn to recognize the illegal e-motos and intervene when violations
occur. These illegal vehicles congregate at our middle schools five days a week. That is a prime
spot for enforcement, with a school/law enforcement joint effort. The community cannot wait for
the first tragic headline to respond – we must move now, together, to ensure student and
pedestrian safety before lives are put at further risk.
Conclusion — Accountability, Enforcement, and Immediate Action
This crisis is not emerging — it is here. Every school day across the San Ramon Valley, 11- to
13-year-olds operate high-powered electric motorcycles on sidewalks, crosswalks, student drop -
off lanes, and school corridors. E-motos Traveling on Sidewalks and Park Paths
These vehicles require a license, registration, and training — yet children ride them illegally
through the most vulnerable pedestrian environments in our community. And it does not stop at
campuses: these same E-motos tear through neighborhoods and downtown Danville,
endangering residents, shoppers, seniors, and families who simply expect to walk safely in their
town.
Awareness is not the problem. We have awareness. What we lack — and urgently require — is
enforcement and accountability. Assemblies and warnings have not slowed the trend; they have
coincided with an explosion of growth. Awareness without enforcement has become permission.
SRVUSD must immediately stop allowing illegal motor-vehicles on school property.
Schools cannot welcome E-motos into bike corrals and simultaneously claim student safety is
their highest priority. (photo below: Stone Valley Middle School)
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The Town of Danville must prohibit E-motos on sidewalks, trails, and pedestrian zones.
Public walkways, parks, neighborhoods, and downtown streets are not motor-vehicle corridors
— especially where children, families, and older adults walk, shop, and gather.
Law enforcement must enforce the law — not just issue warnings.
Officers see these violations daily. The law is unambiguous. The danger is undeniable.
No school district, town government, or police agency wants to stand before grieving parents and
explain why warnings were given but laws were not enforced.
We have a narrow window to act. When tragedy strikes — and at the current trajectory, it will —
the question will not be What happened?
It will be: Why didn’t we stop it when we still had the chance?
The time for talking has passed.
The time for leadership — and enforcement — is right now.
Observed E-Moto Models on SRVUSD Campuses
The e-motos are not limited to one or two brands. On October 30, 2025, volunteers identified
over 20 distinct high-powered electric motorcycle models parked in middle-school bicycle
corrals across the San Ramon Valley. Below(photos) are 12 e-motos. School administrators
should not permit these vehicles on campus, and law enforcement should begin enforcing state
vehicle codes — including citation and tow authority where applicable.
Tuttio-ICT (40+mph) Talaria (40+mph)
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Tuttio-Soleil01 (37mph) Movcan (37mph)
REVV 1 DRT ( 34mph) Pedal-Core (32mph)
Ridestar Q20-Pro (32mph) Meelod-DK 300 (30mph)
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Ride1up (30mph) Super 73 (28mph)
Cycrown-Cychunter (28mph) Volcan (28mph)
Prepared by: Alan Kalin, COL, U.S. Army (Ret.), President Mount Diablo Cyclists
(MountDiabloCyclists.org), Co-Chair Danville Safety Advocates (BikeDanville.org) and Bob
Mittlelstaedt, Attorney and Co-Founder of E-Bike Access
For more information and amazing E-moto videos visit Danville Safety Advocates and E-Bike
Access: Advocating Safe and Legal E-Biking