~ Jon James
My wife LOVES to go camping. She always has. She especially loves to go with the grandkids, who are very young and active and enjoy riding their bikes and scooters on the, normally quiet, paved road.
This year, the campground she frequents has changed a bit as electric bikes and scooters, ridden by teens and adults, quietly zoom through the campground, seldom obeying the 5mph speed limit. That’s why I use the word, “zoom.”
This can make it dangerous for kids and adults alike who are playing, riding a bike or taking a walk.
Something will most assuredly be done about the e-bike traffic and speed in the campground…eventually. But what about Maine’s roadways, which have already seen big uptick in these vehicles along with more accidents and near accidents because riders don’t obey the rules?
Ignorance of laws seems to be a problem, which makes sense as the e-bike craze seems to have come out of nowhere and, because the bikes (not the scooters) also have pedals, many people don’t know they’re any different than a regular pedal bike insofar as rules are concerned, but they are.
As of late, police departments across the state are reporting an increase in safety concerns.
Officers say some riders are ignoring stop signs, traveling against traffic or cutting between vehicles, raising concerns about crashes involving riders, drivers and pedestrians.
Maine law requires e-scooter operators to have either a permit or a driver’s license. Certain classes of e-bikes can be operated without a license, but riders must be at least 16 years old. Regardless of what they are riding, operators are expected to follow the same traffic laws as other vehicles.
A question about whether riders are following those rules was taken to police departments around Maine. The response was consistent: the issue is being seen in communities across the state.
Several police chiefs said they are dealing with more e-bikes, younger riders and an increase in complaints about unsafe or illegal riding. In many cases, officers said their first step is education rather than enforcement.
Lewiston has received a pedestrian safety grant that will help expand education and enforcement efforts. Augusta is launching a new safety campaign, while Scarborough police say they have issued warnings and citations and, in more serious or repeated cases, pursued criminal charges.
Police also have the authority to impound an e-bike or scooter operated by a juvenile. However, chiefs said that option is rarely used because departments often lack the space, staffing and resources needed to store and later return the vehicles.
And parents should be aware that when a rider under 17 is cited, the consequences may not stop with the young person behind the handlebars.
Latest Local Central, Eastern & Western Maine News
