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Minnesota e-bike crackdown: ER visits up 9x as police push to clarify rules
Police across Minnesota are clarifying rules for riding electric-powered vehicles as complaints rise. A recent chase in New Brighton involved teenagers riding electric motorcycles on the highway shoulder at nearly 1 a.m. FOX 9's Corin Hoggard has the story.
NEW BRIGHTON, Minn. (FOX 9) - A surge in kids riding electric-powered bikes and motorcycles has sparked confusion and concern, with police working to clear up the rules.
Police respond to late-night chase involving teens on electric motorcycles
What we know:
Police say they spotted a couple of teenagers riding what are essentially electric motorcycles on the shoulder of I-694 in New Brighton. The pursuit was recorded by MnDOT cameras as two teens were followed by a New Brighton police car across the Silver Lake overpass.
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"The pursuit didn't get too fast, but they were going on the highway about 60 miles an hour on the shoulder with no real lights just cruising down the shoulder on 694 at almost 1 a.m.," said Trevor Hamdorf, New Brighton Deputy Director of Public Safety.
Officers caught a 15-year-old who now faces serious criminal charges for fleeing. Police say the boys were riding electric-powered two-wheelers that are more motorcycle than bicycle, an issue that is popping up across the state.
Police are seeing more cases of young people riding electric vehicles that don’t meet legal requirements, and often in places where they shouldn’t be.
Agencies work to educate parents and clarify e-bike rules
What they're saying:
"I think a lot of parents don't realize what they've purchased for their children," said Commander Jeremy Ellison, St. Paul Police Traffic Division.
St. Paul police and other agencies are putting out charts to show how old riders need to be, whether a license is required, and where the vehicles can be used based on their power. Police say that once electric bikes get above 750 watts, they really start to pay attention.
"So you have to be 15 years old or older to ride those. And then once you get up to that e-motorcycle, you need to have either a permit or a driver's license in order to drive some of those," said Ellison.
Electric bikes should have their wattage listed on the motor hub or bike frame. Police say the teens in the recent chase were riding vehicles that clearly weren’t bikes.
"If it doesn't have a pedal, then it's probably a motorcycle. If it does have a pedal, then the parents need to check and do some more research to figure out how much power it has, to figure what's legal and what's not legal," said Hamdorf.
By the numbers:
Emergency rooms in Minnesota are treating far more injuries from electric two-wheelers, with doctors at Regions reporting a ninefold increase in visits over the past three years.
What we don't know:
It is not yet clear what specific charges the 15-year-old will face or how often these types of chases are happening statewide. Details about the exact make and model of the electric motorcycles involved have not been released.