Six-month moratorium on e-bikes approved

By Dana Casadei

The Bloomfield Township Board of Trustees approved a six-month moratorium on the use of e-bikes for those 16 and under at their meeting on Monday, September 14.

This moratorium bans the use of Class 1, 2, and 3 electric bicycles and electric scooters on township-owned property and rights-of-way. Those who are 16 and older and have a valid driver’s license will still be able to use e-bikes under the moratorium, which also does not apply to electric bicycles permitted under Michigan law. 

The board plans to use the 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 of banning these on public roads.

“I think as a community we need to be aggressive and I’d like to see us take the first steps to protect our community…” said trustee Neal Barnett. “These kids don’t understand speed… and the legislator has done basically nothing.”

There is no specific penalty within the moratorium's language for those who violate it, but if a Bloomfield Township officer sees someone under 16 riding an e-bike and using the motor function, the bike will be taken. If police see a child riding an e-bike with the motor and a parent is nearby, they plan to pull over and have a conversation with the parent. 

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

Electric motorcycles – also known as e-motos – are already illegal in Michigan. They can not be ridden on the sidewalk and those using them must be 18 and over. 

“We’re having a hard stance on e-motos,” said James Gallagher, police chief. “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.”

The accident Gallagher referred to occurred on Labor Day when two young boys were riding an e-moto then were hit by a pickup truck on Telegraph Road. They were transported to hospitals in critical condition.

According to Gallagher, the two juveniles in a redent Telegraph Road crash are recovering but it’s going to be a long journey for them both. He was also quick to note that only one of them had a bike helmet on. 

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.

E-bikes can go as fast as 25-30 m.p.h and e-motos have been known to top 50 m.p.h.

“Education is the primary goal here. To wake people up that there are consequences for actions and unfortunately, consequences can be deadly or life-altering,” Gallagher said.

While all on the board agreed about the need for regulations to be put in place, there was some debate about the moratorium, allowing kids to start riding e-bikes in the streets instead of the sidewalk because Bloomfield Township does not have jurisdiction on the streets. Others brought up the issue of kids who ride e-bikes to school, something they would not be able to do under the moratorium. 

“I think most children are using these things appropriately. I’m very hesitant to use the enforcement of government…. I think we’re overreaching,” said clerk Martin Brook, who did vote against the approval of the moratorium. “I think we need to educate, talk to parents, follow the law, and we should focus on the e-motos. I think it’s a bit of a distraction to focus on the e-bikes too.”

There were suggestions to add a line in the moratorium about allowing a child to ride an e-bike if a parent was with them, but that was ultimately dismissed with the moratorium’s language staying put. 

Brook also made the suggestion to wait another two weeks before they decided anything, which the crowd did not agree with, nor did some of his fellow trustees. 

“I would prefer for the six months where we don’t allow them, period. Even with parents. I think we need to take a stand,” Barnett said. “Parental supervisor or judgement, we’ve found a lot of parents have poor judgement. I think we need to take action now; we can amend this as needed.”

The board voted 6-1 to approve the moratorium. Trustees plan to come back in two weeks and make adjustments if needed.