As e-bike injuries and deaths surge, should parents be held criminally liable?
NEW YORK (AP) — As traumatic injuries and deaths among children riding e-bikes and other electric-powered vehicles continue to climb, one California prosecutor is taking a hard line: holding parents criminally responsible for what their kids ride.
The crackdown is just one of several approaches officials across the U.S. are testing to address a growing safety crisis, even as families struggle to navigate a patchwork of local laws and shifting guidance about which motorized bikes and scooters are safe — or even legal — for minors.
In New York City, the mayor recently sent cease-and-desist letters to dozens of online retailers selling products marketed as “e-bikes” that do not meet city street-legal standards. The move came after a 17-year-old died while riding an illegal vehicle near City Hall. In New Jersey, new rules require e-bike riders to be at least 15 and to obtain a license and vehicle registration. Other states, including Illinois and Massachusetts, are either enacting or weighing similar measures.
But do these efforts actually address the problem? Cycling advocates worry the new rules are too broad, sweeping in low-powered pedal-assist e-bikes that have a strong safety record while missing the real danger: high-speed electric motorcycles often disguised as e-bikes. Some parents also question whether piecemeal local rules can keep up with a machine that has become a cultural phenomenon.
Monica Stafford, a mother from San Rafael, California, whose teenage daughter fractured her skull after falling off an e-bike, said officials are “missing the mark” if they focus blame solely on parents. She argues the country needs a unified, national set of rules.
“We’re in a total Wild West of laws,” Stafford said. “Being for common sense laws doesn’t mean that you’re against e-bikes, just like you can be for cars but not think that it’s safe to put keys in the hands of a 10-year-old.”
The two-wheeled machines have become nearly ubiquitous in recent years — from packs of teens weaving through California beach towns to delivery drivers threading through Manhattan traffic. And as their popularity has soared, so have hospital visits. Study after study has documented a sharp rise in injuries tied to e-bikes, e-scooters and other motorized rides.
But researchers say the more troubling trend is not just the number of injuries, but their severity — especially among children.
“The big takeaway is that people are generally more severely injured than they would be if they were on a traditional, pedal bicycle,” said Dr. John Austin, a physician at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine who led a recently published statewide study. “Overall, these patients tend to be younger, they tend to be unhelmeted and, in turn, be more severely injured.”
Under federal law, most e-bikes are classified as nonmotorized vehicles similar to traditional bicycles, meaning riders do not need a license, insurance or a helmet. But many states have imposed extra requirements for higher-powered machines, including minimum ages and helmet mandates.
The recent death of 17-year-old Gabriel Nacato in New York City — just steps from City Hall — reignited the debate. Nacato had been riding a vehicle advertised as an “e-bike” but was not street-legal in the city. Earlier this month, Mayor Zohran Mamdani warned more than 40 online retailers, including Amazon, Walmart and Target, that they could face fines of up to $2,000 for each illegal e-bike sold.
New York state already requires e-bike riders to be at least 16, and New York City imposes its own restrictions, including a 15 mph speed limit. California has no statewide minimum age for lower-powered e-bikes, but riders must be at least 16 to use models capable of reaching 28 mph.
In Southern California, Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer says his office has more than two dozen open investigations into parents after launching a unit focused on e-bike and e-motorcycle cases involving children. His office has already filed charges against four parents, including the mother of a 14-year-old boy accused of killing an elderly pedestrian while riding an e-motorcycle.
That mother’s attorney declined to comment, but Mitchell Krems, a lawyer for another parent, dismissed the charges against his client as “absurd” and suggested the parent was being made a “scapegoat.” Richard Eyssallenne pleaded not guilty to child endangerment charges after prosecutors said he bought his 12-year-old son an e-motorcycle and helped illegally modify it to make it faster. The boy ran a red light and was injured by a car.
Other jurisdictions are also exploring parental liability. In Ohio, a Columbus suburb recently issued new e-bike rules clarifying that parents who knowingly allow their children to break the rules face the same penalties as the rider.
PeopleForBikes, a national advocacy group tracking e-bike regulations, stresses that many of the problematic vehicles are actually electric motorcycles — heavy frames, sturdy tires, sizable motors — falsely marketed as e-bikes. Lower-powered and pedal-assisted e-bikes, the group argues, have been used safely for decades and remain essential to reducing reliance on cars.
“Many of the dangerous behaviors people cite — running red lights, riding on sidewalks, not wearing helmets — are already illegal,” added Chloé Lauer, executive director of the San Diego County Bike Coalition. “We’d rather see those laws enforced than add new restrictions that limit mobility for kids who are riding responsibly.”
Anya Dalal, a San Francisco-area high school senior who has pushed for better safety measures, believes the problem calls for a mix of solutions, including age limits.
“It should be a mix of parental accountability, accountability from the manufacturers and retailers and also education for kids to understand e-bike laws and road rules,” said the 17-year-old from Hillsborough.
Sharon Franke, a San Diego-area mother, agreed — though she said the first step starts at home. Parents need to do their research, ride with their children and reinforce safety once they head out on their own.
“We want them to have fun, but we also want them to come back safe and we don't want them to hurt anybody,” she said as her 15- and 12-year-old sons prepared to attend a safety training last weekend. “How do you balance all of it? It's just overwhelming right now.”
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Associated Press reporters Amy Taxin and Christopher Weber in California and Anthony Izaguirre in New York contributed to this report.
Follow Philip Marcelo at https://x.com/philmarcelo