MOUNT HOPE, N.Y.—The city of Middletown is dealing with the dangerous use of e-bikes and e-scooters on the streets by passing legislation, educating people on road rules, and increasing police actions.
The Middletown Common Council passed new city laws on Aug. 3 restricting the usage of electric-assisted vehicles, as well as regular bikes and motorcycles.
Middletown Chief of Police John Ewanciw told The Epoch Times that the regulations give police officers extra tools when dealing with dangerous riders.
New guidelines in the city say that these vehicles cannot be driven recklessly, which means endangering people and property, swerving in and out of traffic, or trick riding on roads used by others.
It was also established that e-bikes and e-scooters may not be used to flee from police.
Violations of the bike and scooter laws in Middletown can result in $50 to $500 in fines or imprisonment for up to 15 days for not following bike and scooter laws.
On second offenses, vehicles can be confiscated for up to 60 days.
Other city laws for bikes and scooters include rules against riding them on sidewalks and against going above 30 miles per hour.
Important regulations in New York state for e-bikes state that riders must be at least 16 years old and that helmets must be worn by anyone riding a bike that goes up to 25 miles per hour.
E-scooter riders in New York state must be 16, wear helmets if they are only 16 or 17, and may not ride above 15 miles per hour.
The newly passed laws were necessary to prevent people from getting hurt, Middletown Mayor Joe DeStefano told The Epoch Times in an Aug. 8 interview.
“The scooter craze has really created not only dangerous situations for vehicle operators, but more dangerous [situations] for young people and pedestrians,” he said.
“They’re riding on sidewalks. They’re weaving in and out of traffic, not following traffic laws.
“Some of those bikes are going more than the state allows. Some of the newer e-bikes are going 40, 45 miles an hour.”
DeStefano said the city and police force have done outreach to the Middletown schools and colleges about proper e-bike and e-scooter usage, and have given away helmets as well.
The city has received some pushback, the mayor said, with some people saying that the regulations are nonsense.
DeStefano said: “We’re not trying to ruin somebody’s fun. We’re very concerned about the safety of the rider and the safety of the public in general, especially pedestrians, and preventing vehicle accidents. It’s just become a situation that’s untenable right now.”
Ewanciw told The Epoch Times in a phone interview on Aug. 8 that he’s seen a significant increase in e-bike and e-scooter usage in the city, especially by young people.
He recognizes that the vehicles have value as convenient, cost-effective, and fun means of transportation but that they also have been causing issues.
“We’re seeing that people are just disregarding all the rules of the road,” he said. “No one’s paying attention. The red lights, the stop signs. They’re driving on the sidewalks. We’re getting complaints from businesses and pedestrians saying, you know, I’m almost getting run over.”
Other issues he reported were people not wearing proper safety equipment and multiple people riding on one vehicle.
The chief said that the new laws would help the police combat specific issues they see in the community and give officers more tools, such as the ability to confiscate the vehicles.
Ewanciw said there had been several accidents this year since the spring, including crashes and being struck by cars. He connected this specifically to the issue of reckless driving by young riders.
The chief has not received pushback to the new laws and has received comments from parents saying that they did not know of any e-bike rules or of their children’s poor road behavior.
From his experience, Ewanciw has found that many kids do not understand the rules and the consequences or dangers they face.
The police department started with an education approach to policing e-bikes and e-scooters, the chief said, and has now moved to an enforcement approach.
He explained that officers have choices when handling situations; they can inform and give grace to unintentional violators or confiscate vehicles and issue summonses, depending on the situation.
Ewanciw stated that there have been e-bike confiscations.
He said he believes that the local surge falls in line with a national increase in these types of vehicles.
“I’ve been at conferences recently where they’re talking about this kind of nationwide uptick. ... It’s not unique to one area,” he said.
