Mill Valley tightens e-bike rules for youths

Mill Valley is banning youths under 16 from riding throttle-controlled e-bikes.

On Monday, the City Council unanimously approved rules barring anyone under 16 from riding class two and class three e-bikes. These e-bikes have throttles – not pedals – to accelerate and maximum speeds of 20 mph and 28 mph, respectively.

The new rules also require all riders under 18 to wear helmets.

“This is an issue of health and safety,” Councilmember Katherine Jones said. “The issue is that our children are having high rates of injuries after riding on these class two bikes.”

Mill Valley’s rules will take effect in July. After a public education effort, police will issue warnings. In September, police will issue tickets with $25 fines. Violators can avoid that fine by taking a two-hour bike safety course from Mill Valley police.

“Our safety course is an in-person, two-hour course that covers many topics such as rules of the road, device identification and a hands-on (on bike) demonstration that requires attendees to show they can safely operate their e-bikes,” Mill Valley police Lt. Shaun McCracken said. “Our course incorporates a separate parents’ course that involves parents meeting with our officers to discuss their responsibilities and further promote the safe operation of e-bikes.”

The council’s actions came after a public hearing where no opposition was voiced.

A year ago, Mill Valley barred e-bikes from its sidewalks, ballfields and roadside drainage ditches and culverts.

Last fall, the Legislature authorized a Marin County pilot program to regulate e-bikes. In March, county supervisors banned youths under 16 from riding class two and three bikes and added the helmet requirement. Those rules only affect the county’s unincorporated areas. Cities must adopt rules within their boundaries. Tiburon and Mill Valley were first to do so.

Mill Valley’s rules vary from the county’s rules in one respect. The city will require offenders to take its police safety course. The county allows offenders to take an online California Highway Patrol course.

The rules were approved after a public hearing where the only concerns were enforcement and educating parents.

Earlier, McCracken said police would not stop youths who looked underage unless they were speeding or lacked a helmet.

“I would think seeing a young-looking person driving into a middle school or coming out of a middle school would be a pretty good tipoff they’re under 16,” said Bob Mittelstaedt, a safety advocate. “The idea is to get these off the streets and out of the schools.”

Dominic Blurton, a pediatric cardiologist whose wife works at a pediatric hospital, said his wife has seen “a lot of blunt force trauma to the abdomen” with kidney and liver injuries — not just head injuries from the bikes.

“An average 13-year-old weighs 100 pounds,” he said. “So when that bike goes down and the kid impacts a stopped 83-pound vehicle to the ribs, to the belly, and on the handlebars, that’s how you get these sorts of injuries.”

Jonathan Freeman, another bike safety advocate, said the biggest challenge was instilling a safety “ethos” among parents.

Sharon Nakatani, president of the Mill Valley School District board, agreed and said district’s e-bike outreach had begun.

Marin County’s bicycle crash dashboard listed 13 calls to 911 for e-bike incidents between Jan. 1 and April 19.