Electric bikes allow riders to go faster and further than regular bikes – and many in Orinda believe they are a hazard.
E-bikes, as they are known, are popular among kids because there is no age requirement for riding, and top speeds can range from 20 to 28 miles per hour.
Kaia Purdy said she’s tired of seeing riders directly in front of her on the road.
“It feels dangerous to let riders ride on the main road, especially when there is so much traffic congestion,” said Purdy, a Loard’s Ice Cream employee in downtown Orinda.
Riders under the age of 18 are legally required to wear helmets and signal when switching lanes, but that’s about it when it comes to official rules for young users. And at 25 miles per hour, e-bikes can be moving as fast as the accompanying traffic.
Mena Dorsey, a student at Miramonte High School, said she feels unsafe driving home from school regardless of riders’ helmet usage.
“Once I was in my lane and a group of boys were swerving in front of me, and they didn’t care that what they were doing was dangerous,” she said. “I tried telling them that, and they laughed at me.”
Orinda’s residential neighborhoods can also be dangerous areas for e-bike riders.
Margaret Meckes, an Orinda resident on El Toyonal, is scared for e-bike riders because her hill is narrow and has a lot of blind turns.
“Sometimes I see e-bikes driving up my hill, and they make me anxious because they are riding faster than my speed when I’m driving,” said Meckes.
The speed limit on El Toyonal is 25 miles per hour, but only one of the three classes of e-bikes are allowed to go that fast.
The first class provides motor assistance only when pedaling with a maximum speed of 20 miles per hour, the second class allows a rider to go 20 miles per hour without pedaling, and the third class of e-bikes can reach 28 miles per hour with full pedal assistance.
Some, however, view e-bikes positively, noting that they help keep kids active and give teens without cars a way to get around.
Riley Mapaye, a senior at Miramonte, shares the road with e-bikes driving home from school and he sees e-bikes used safely.
“I don’t think the e-bikes in Orinda are inherently dangerous, but just like anything else, if used incorrectly, they can be,” he said.
Anthony Rossi, Orinda’s chief of police, said e-bikes are safest after proper education on the rules of the road.
“Education with parents, wearing the proper protective gear and following safe riding procedures,” said Rossi, “can make the riding of e-bikes safer.”
