E-bike moratorium, safety classes discussed

By Dana Casadei

With the six-month moratorium on e-bikes in full effect, Bloomfield Township Police Sergeant Nate Eller and Sean Manor, Community Relations Officer, came before the board of trustees to present their proposed safety plan on Monday, October 12. 

“I think we’ve put together a phenomenal safety program,” Eller said. “The number one thing we want to get out of this is to educate the public, not only the youth but parents as well. People need to be aware of the safety concerns.”

The proposed safety program would have multiple elements to complete for those under 16 who wish to use an e-bike. They would have to attend a four-hour class with a parent, and both must complete and pass the safety course. The class will cover everything from the differences between e-bikes, e-scooters and e-motos; helmet use when riding and general safety knowledge about using e-bikes and e-scooters, with an emphasis on being careful about speed.

E-bikes can go as fast as 25-30 mph and e-motos have been known to top 50 mph. According to data collected by the Bloomfield Township Police Department, 28 mph – the legal limit on e-bikes – is when things can get very dangerous in regards to the total distance it takes to stop moving. When an e-bike is going that speed it takes 3.32 seconds to fully stop on dry concrete and 4.05 seconds on wet concrete, officials said. 

“Thanks for including the parents on this, because the parents need this information also, sometimes more than the kids,” said trustee Neal Barnett. “I think this is a great program. This works really well with our moratorium and trying to protect our residents.”

After both child and parent have passed and completed the safety course, there is an application that would need to be filled out in order to register the e-bike or e-scooter within Bloomfield Township. An officer would also inspect the e-bike it to make sure it is an e-bike or e-scooter, and not an e-moto, which is illegal in Michigan. 

Registering an e-bike will cost $20 per bike, with plans for all funds to go directly back into the program and help cover the wages of police officers who teach the class, as well as space rental fees. Eller said they have also talked about putting some of those funds into buying equipment, like helmets, for those who may not have one or be able to afford one. 

Those who register their e-bikes and e-scooters would receive a serialized registration sticker that would need to be placed and visible on the bike at all times. If the e-bike is used for medical or handicap purposes, there would be no cost to register it with the township.

“This helps us on the law enforcement side… it gives us a record of who it belongs to,” Eller said. 

The six-month moratorium on the use of e-bikes for those 16 and under went into effect last month after an accident on Labor Day where two young boys were riding an e-moto then hit by a pickup truck on Telegraph Road. Both were taken to the hospital. 

“We didn’t sign up to go see the trauma we did last week because we’re making poor decisions of letting these bikes on the road without the proper education. The witnesses out there don’t need to see this trauma again either,” said James Gallagher, police chief, at the board of trustees meeting on September 14.

Since January the Bloomfield Township Police Department has received over 100 calls for service about e-bikes. Those calls have ranged from reporting them on the sidewalk to accidents, which there have been nine of so far this year.

Regarding the moratorium that was approved in September, the board did make a few changes to the wording of the resolution before it received approval at their October 12 meeting.

“The township did move quickly in light of the incident that occurred so I worked with police to fine tune it,” said Anthony Chubb, general counsel for Bloomfield Township. 


There was a reference to Class 3 bikes in the original moratorium which was removed because those are already illegal for those under 16 to drive under state law. Chubb also added an exception to the moratorium for those under 16 who have completed the township’s safety class and are riding an approved bike with the registration sticker, and added that the appeal process is allowed to be done by the board of trustees or their assigned representative, which allows requested exceptions to any ordinance.


The board plans to use these six months to allow them and the community to work together on gathering additional research and moving forward with possible legislation. They also plan to go to the Oakland County Board of Commissioners for support in banning these on public roads.


E-bikes not used in a motorized or throttle fashion will still be able to be used during the six months.


“This is great to get out in a quick time frame and will make us a regional leader with this issue,” said trustee Chris Kolinski. “Hopefully others will be able to do the same.”


Those over 16 with an e-bike or e-scooter aren’t required to take the safety class, but will need to have their bike inspected by Bloomfield Township police and registered with the township. This would be free of charge for those who participate. They would also receive a license to make sure their bikes meet the requirements of an e-bike.

Residents coming in from outside the township would also need to complete the class with a parent if they are under 16, and register their e-bikes or e-scooters if they plan to ride them in Bloomfield Township.


The police department hopes to get this program started in the next month or so to prepare kids and young teenagers who want to ride their e-bikes and e-scooters next spring. 


Manor has already been in contact with the Bloomfield Hills School Board to discuss holding classes there, which may be difficult during school hours but could possibly be done after the school day is complete. The Bloomfield Township police training rooms were another place discussed to host classes. 


The motion to accept the resolution as presented passed 7-0.