E-bikes create headaches, danger

MANAWA – In a recent Facebook post, the Manawa Police Department urged parents and kids to use more caution when riding electric bikes (e-bikes).
Police Chief Jason Severson said the riding of e-bikes started becoming an issue last summer, with the issue resurfacing even worse this summer.
Severson said the majority of e-bike riders are between the ages of ten to 16 years old and in the last few weeks he has seen many near accidents and one accident resulted in the rider possibly needing surgery.
Severson said he and his officers have been flagging down kids for safety talks but it doesn’t seem to be helping.
When operating an e-bike it is important for riders to follow traffic roadway laws, which include stopping for stop signs, riding near the curb with traffic instead of in the middle of the street and yielding to right-of-way traffic when crossing the street.

Severson said bikes are allowed on sidewalks, and being they aren’t heavily used by pedestrians it is safer than being on the street. He urges riders to yield to pedestrians, especially downtown when they are entering or exiting buildings.
He also noted that riders are doubling up on a bike which is not allowed, only one rider should be on a bike.
Severson also encouraged helmets, which are not required but with the higher speeds of the e-bikes could be the difference between life and death.
The current ordinance in Manawa is split into three classifications.
Class one is an e-bike that has a motor that only provides assistance when the rider is pedaling, and ceases to help when the bike reaches a speed of 20 miles-per-hour.
Class two is an e-bike that is powered solely by a motor and is not able to assist when the bike reaches 20 miles-per-hour.
Class three is similar to class one but it ceases to provide assistance once the bike reaches 28 miles-per-hour and you need to be at least 16 years old to operate.
Severson said he will be bringing this to the city council’s attention as the constant complaints continue to come in.
“We’ve tried to tell the kids that a bike going fast would cause serious injuries if they were in an accident,” he said. “Just last week we had a kid cut in front of a [Department of Public Works] worker in a backhoe and another kid riding double on a bike get hurt.”
The ordinance can be found on the City of Manawa website at www.cityofmanawa.org.