Safety rules planned for electric mobility devices

Mill Valley plans to adopt safety regulations governing electric bicycles and other “electric mobility devices.”

The City Council unanimously approved the ordinance during its meeting on Monday. The vote was a first reading of the ordinance, and a vote to adopt it is planned for next month.

“We are all concerned about accidents,” said Mayor Jim Wickham. “We are very concerned about the safety of our youth, our teens and even our adults.”

The ordinance prohibits the electric mobility devices, or EMDs, from the skate park; the downtown plaza; public hiking and riding trails; sidewalks; and public facilities. It will also include speed regulations.

Electric mobility devices include electric bicycles, motorized scooters and wheelchairs, motorized boards and lowspeed vehicles. An electronic bicycle is a bicycle equipped with fully operable pedals and an electronic motor of less than 750 watts.

No one younger than 16 in primary control of an EMD can ride with a passenger. Businesses that sell EMDs will be required to provide safety and legal information on using the equipment.

The ordinance will institute a diversion program for youths who violate the ordinance. It will require a four-hour training program for offenders and online safety program for parents, said police Chief Rick Navarro.

Repeat offenders might have to attend traffic court, Navarro said.

Navarro said youths in the city are increasingly using the devices, generating more complaints and concerns about safety.

“We absolutely support the usage of electric bicycles, motorized scooters and other electric mobility devices as an alternative mode of transportation,” Navarro said. “However, we also recognize that increased usage has created safety concerns among operator interactions with other motorists and pedestrians warranting a higher level of regulations.”

Many of the complaints involve youths during and after school hours near Tamalpais High School and Mill Valley Middle School, Navarro said.

The complaints include speeding, failure to follow regulatory signage, riding against the flow of traffic, multi-passenger riding, lack of helmets, riding on the sidewalk and not yielding to pedestrians. He said bicycle-related collisions have increased more than 50% over the last four years in Mill Valley.

Wickham likened e-bikes to motorcycles.

“I think consistency around our schools is really important for this law to move forward,” he said. “These e-bikes are awesome but someone is going to get hurt if these kids don't realize responsibility.”

Dr. Heyman Oo, president of the San Francisco Marin Medical Society, said physicians throughout the region have seen an increase in accidents, including with injuries to the ribs and to the head.

“We believe that this ordinance is a step in the right direction to promoting public health and safety,” she said.