Canonsburg cracks down on ebikes
Courtesy of the Canonsburg Police Department Facebook page
A spate of complaints stemming from reckless behavior by youths riding electric bikes has prompted Canonsburg to crack down on their use in the borough.
Mayor Dave Rhome said he was fielding complaints about teens on the bikes weaving in and out of traffic, popping wheelies on state roads and fleeing from police officers.
“The bottom line was if they would have kept it low key in the parks … it probably wouldn’t have gotten much further,” Rhome said. “But they decided they were going to start taking them onto the roadway and doing some stupid moves. That prompted the public to start reaching out and asking if this was legal.”
An electric bike, or ebike, as it is called, is a bicycle equipped with a battery-operated motor that provides extra power to assist the rider while pedaling.
“These ebikes were disregarding traffic laws, traveling in and out of traffic and pulling up onto the sidewalk and then back onto the roadway to get around traffic,” said Deputy Police Chief Don Cross. “We also were getting complaints that they were riding them throughout the town park and also being reckless. So our department decided to start digging into what the traffic laws were regarding the use of ebikes.”
Electric dirt bikes have posed a problem as well, Cross said.
“They include no pedals and no turn signals, headlights, brake lights and even licensing,” he said. “They are meant to be ridden in the dirt – off road. We actually had some juveniles riding them on the roadways.”
Directives have been put in place to deter the practice.
“If you’re going to operate an ebike on the roadway, you still have to abide by all traffic laws,” Cross said.
Bikes are permitted only on designated trails and roadways, and not on sidewalks. They must weigh less than 100 pounds, have a motor of 750 watts or under and travel no faster than 20 miles per hour. Cross noted many of the operators are not wearing helmets or proper safety gear.
Cross said about four or five citations have been issued to violators, but the goal is not to write tickets.
“We just want to get the word out there to get people into compliance on this,” he said. “We’re not looking to become a heavy-handed police department on this issue.”