The Manhattan Beach police department is warning e-bike owners again after ticketing a 13-year-old boy. Not only did it cite the youngster for riding his electric motorbike on the road but they made an example out of him by impounding the bike. Police say he wasn’t wearing the required safety equipment and didn’t have an understanding of the laws.
Motorized bikes or mopeds in Manhattan Beach aren’t legally supposed to be capable of traveling above 30 mph. The police specifically called this model, a Sur-Ron X, out because it is indeed capable of higher speeds. Technically, this e-bike doesn’t really fall into that category so we took a look at the legal requirements for bikes.
The local authorities classify e-bikes into three groups. Class 1 provides pedaling assistance only when the rider is pedaling and not above 20 mph. Class 2 can provide power regardless of if the rider is pedaling and not above 20 mph. Class 3 is identical to class one except that it can provide assistance up to 28 mph.
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Since the SurRon X doesn’t fall into any of these categories and it lacks normal safety equipment like side mirrors it’s illegal to ride one on the road. In fact, it was side mirrors that one officer, Sergeant Andy Abreu, called out when speaking to local organization MB News. “It fails to have required safety features such as side view mirrors that are required for motorcycles,” explained Abreu.
Now the youngster is facing a citation for unlicensed driving and since he wasn’t licensed previously, the police impounded the bike. It’s now going to sit in the impound lot for 30 days racking up daily charges along with the towing fee itself. One estimate reports that combined, the family of this kid could end up paying approximately $1,000 due to the incident.
That’s a pretty penny but keep in mind that this kid was riding a bike that retails for about $4,400. It wasn’t as though he was on a $350 hand-me-down. In any case, the point is clear, be sure about what’s legal and illegal wherever you ride any sort of bike like this. A wrong choice could end up costing quite a lot.