HomeMy WebLinkAbout051226-03.1 MITTELSTAEDT, BOBHaving worked on the e-bike/e-moto issue for more than two years, E-Bike Access
and Danville Safety Advocates urge the Town Council to add an important item to 1
the Staff Report’s action list: enforce existing laws against illegal electric
motorcycles (“e-motos”).
THE PROBLEM: Illegal E-Motos
Three facts:
•Large numbers of Danville middle- and high-school students ride illegal
electric motorcycles on local streets and sidewalks and park them on school
campuses.
•Current education and enforcement efforts, however laudable and well-
intentioned, have not solved the problem.
•John Muir Trauma Center reports an “alarming” increase in “motorcycle-
level” injuries involving teens riding high-speed electric devices.
Our work on this project was featured in the New York Times and the Mineta Transportation 1
Institute’s report on e-bike safety commissioned by the California Legislature. E-Bike Access
has worked with Safe Routes to Schools in Marin, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Sonoma counties
to address the e-moto problem. We are widely recognized for our expertise and research on this
topic.
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THE SOLUTION: Enforce Existing Law
This problem is solvable. Based on our work with communities across four Bay
Area counties, the most effective response is targeted enforcement of existing laws
against illegal e-motos.
We asked a retired police chief whether the problem could be addressed using
current law. His answer was straightforward: officers could monitor bike corrals,
warn students, issue citations when necessary, and impound illegal vehicles if
violations continue.
We expect Chief Rossberg would give a similar answer.
Yet the May 12 Staff Memo offers a series of reasons not to act. None withstands
scrutiny.
1. “Enforcement alone has limitations.”
No one is proposing enforcement alone. Education and outreach should continue.
But the Town’s current approach also has limitations, demonstrated by the
continued growth of illegal e-motos and rising injuries.
2. “Youth riders may flee from officers.”
That is an argument for enforcement at school bike corrals before students are
riding — not an argument against enforcement altogether.
3. Enforcement may “undermine community trust” and create an “adversarial
environment.”
The opposite is true. Community trust is undermined when dangerous and illegal
conduct is ignored. And an “adversarial environment” is created by those who
violate the laws, not when the laws are enforced. Parents who allow minors to
operate illegal electric motorcycles should not effectively have veto power over
enforcement.
4. Enforcement at school bike corrals “requires coordination” between police and
schools and is “resource-intensive.”
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Inter-agency cooperation is a strength, not a reason for inaction. Periodic
enforcement at bike corrals is not resource-heavy. Officers need not be stationed
full time at bike corrals. Other communities have used occasional high-visibility
enforcement successfully. School Resource Officers can handle much of this work
with supplemental support as needed.
If resources are truly inadequate, the Town Council should allocate more.
5. Difficulty identifying legal versus illegal devices.
This concern is overstated. Manufacturers openly advertise many of these vehicles
with wattage and speed capabilities that exceed California e-bike limits. E-Bike
Access has already provided the Town with a list of illegal e-motos commonly
seen at local schools. It’s on our website, under “Rogue Motorcycles—E-Motos
To Avoid.”
If needed, the City Attorney, District Attorney, or County Counsel can assist in
identifying illegal brands.
THE “ACTION ITEMS” IN THE STAFF REPORT ARE
INSUFFICIENT
The Staff Report offers four recommendations, none of which takes the e-moto
issue head-on.
The first two deal with where and how fast e-bikes and e-scooters can be ridden.
Neither addresses the main problem—e-motos. Nor is deferring the sidewalk ban
going to solve anything.
The other two recommendations (support state legislation and regional
coordination) may be useful longer term. But to deal with the e-moto problem, we
do not need any new laws. Instead we need to enforce current laws.
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THE IMPERATIVE IS TO ACT NOW, NOT WAIT FOR MORE
TRAGEDIES
“Alarming Trend of Motorcycle-Level Injuries”
At the April 20, 2026 Assembly Transportation Committee hearing, Chief Rossberg
stated:
“Young riders account for a growing number of our accidents. Our partners at
John Muir Health report that ebike injuries have doubled in the past year and many
of our teens are suffering motorcycle-level injuries.”
John Muir Health described this trend as “alarming” and involving “high-speed”
devices causing “motorcycle-level” trauma.
We now read about e-bike/e-moto tragedies on a weekly basis, from Walnut Creek
to Novato, San Jose to Orange County. Danville’s police records show two recent
“severe injury” collisions, involving 14 and 16 year olds. And the Staff Report
acknowledges “a growing pattern of near misses involving youth riders” and an
“emerging risk profile consistent with trends identified elsewhere.”
The Staff’s Suggestion To Wait For More Injuries
The Staff Report states that, despite this “alarming trend,” “current local conditions
do not warrant alarm” because Danville has not yet experienced “widespread
injury.” In other words, not enough Danville residents have been injured or killed
yet by e-motos.
This squarely presents a decision for the Town Council. How many injuries and
fatalities are required before raising the alarm and taking effective action? To
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frame this question, we suggest that the Council ask three straightforward
questions:
1.Do large numbers of illegal e-motos exist at schools attended by Danville
students?
2.Can police, working with schools, stop students from bringing illegal e-
motos onto campuses through warnings, citations, and impound authority?
3.Should that enforcement begin now, or should it await further injuries or
fatalities within Danville city limits?
May 11, 2026 Respectfully submitted,
E-Bike Access — Bob Mittelstaedt
Danville Safety Advocates — Alan Kalin
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