Mount Pleasant is considering changes to its current e-bike ordinance to ease the public’s concerns after increased incidents of reckless riding and illegal use of mopeds.
The town council last week unanimously voted to approve the first reading of the amended ordinance, which would allow officers to penalize not only adults but also children for violating regulations. Violators could face fines of up to $500 or 30 days in jail.
The town has had 86 collisions involving bicycles and e-bikes in the past three years, according to Mount Pleasant Police Chief Mark Arnold during a June town hall meeting. In 63% of cases, the cyclist was at fault, he said.
Concern really is over mopeds
Much of the public’s concern isn’t about traditional e-bikes, but about faster mopeds being ridden by children. These vehicles, unlike e-bikes, require registration and a license. E-bikes generally travel at speeds no more than 20 mph, compared to mopeds, which can hit speeds past 30 mph.
“The biggest problem is not true e-bikes,” Mount Pleasant Mayor Will Haynie said during last week’s town hall meeting. “The biggest problem is these things that are not e-bikes under state law. They’re actually mopeds, and that’s where the crackdown is going to be.”
Michele Wilkins, owner of Charleston Fitness Equipment, said she is increasingly worried about parents who purchase mopeds for their kids, mistaking them for e-bikes. Mopeds are the real concern, she said.
“I think the people in Mount Pleasant are upset about the fact that a lot of the kids who are on the e-bikes are actually not even on electric bikes, but are on mopeds,” Wilkins said. “They don’t even have pedals, they’re literally just like mini-motorcycles.”
While Wilkins said her store doesn’t sell any bikes that go over 20 mph, she said she has seen a huge increase in parents buying e-bikes for their children. She emphasized that most ride safely and respectfully.
“There are a lot of respectable kids out there getting e-bikes,” Wilkins said. “It’s not that all are using them ineffectively. It’s just that there are always a few bad apples that are kind of ruining things for others.”
Increased enforcement of reckless bicycling is crucial to reduce hazards for the children, she said.
“They definitely need to be cracked down on, because right now, it’s just kind of like lawlessness out there, and unfortunately, until somebody gets seriously hurt or dies, the kids aren’t going to stop misbehaving,” Wilkins said.
E-bike sales aren’t anticipated to drop if the ordinance is passed, Wilkins said. It might even increase.
“We might actually see more business from parents for kids that are buying a less dangerous or more conservative style of bike, so I don’t think it’s going to impact our business in a negative way at all,” Wilkins said.
More to discourage reckless biking
Mount Pleasant resident Kay Addis said she thought that the town wasn’t doing enough to curb reckless riding.
“I don’t think the current ordinance is being enforced,” Addis said. “I don’t think that a lot of the riders are following the rules of the road in terms of using hand signals and giving pedestrians the right of way.”
Enforcement of e-bike regulations has been challenging for officers, said Arnold, the police chief. There have been several instances of Juveniles fleeing when officers attempt to stop them.
“I, for one, am not interested in pursuing a 14-year-old or 13-year-old for an e-bike violation,” Arnold said. “The danger of that is way too high.”
Addis agrees that an updated ordinance could stop e-bikes from becoming a bigger public safety concern, especially for children.
“Generally, people don’t like rules and regulations,” Addis said. “But when it comes to public safety, I think we need to do more rather than less.”
Without increased regulation, the community’s safety will decline, Addis said.
“I think more and more young children will continue to behave irresponsibly,” Addis said. “That’s not to say that everybody who rides an e-bike is behaving irresponsibly. There is just a group who is, and I’m concerned about them, and I’m an older citizen who could be easily knocked over, and so I’m worried for people like me.”
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