BY STEPHANIE LAM
Daily Post Correspondent
Palo Alto police are seeing an uptick in student e-bike riders violating traffic laws, and not stopping when officers approach them, according to police Lt. Kara Apple.
Apple made the observation Thursday during the Palo Alto Unified School District and City Council’s joint committee meeting, where members discussed how to encourage student e-bike safety and awareness.
E-bikes and e-motos, or electronic motorcycles, are becoming popular modes of transportation in Palo Alto and there are a “high proportion” of motorized devices parked at Gunn and Palo Alto high schools, according to Ria Hutabarat Lo, the city’s chief transportation official.
In March, there were six collisions across different PAUSD campuses involving e-bikes and e-motos, with one resulting in major injuries, according to Apple.
To address e-bike safety, Hutabarat Lo said the school district should consider an on-campus ban. She also suggested more enforcement on school campuses and more education about the dangers of e-bikes for parents and students.
Acting Superintendent Herb Espiritu said the district is looking at educating students and families about the laws pertaining to e-bikes.
Aren’t electric motorcycles already illegal for school-age children? Those are the problem, not bicycles. Schools just need to enforce the existing ban.
How about doing something innovative like enforcing the law and start ticketing the kids with extra penalties for those who ignore the police???
Not a day goes by that I don’t see e-bike violations but the ones that are really annoying and dangerous are the kids speeding along on the e-bikes at night without any lights and wearing dark clothes.
Enough with the listening sessions and trying to figure out how to educate those who don’t care to be educated; just start ticketing the kids with escalating fines for each offense.