E-Bikes, E-Motos, and Managing an Emerging Safety Concern

Over the past spring and summer, a phenomenon has brought me both joy and concern. At first glance, it looks familiar: many tweens and teens outside, riding bikes and enjoying each other’s company.   

These bikes, however, looked different. They were bulkier, with thicker frames. Some looked like motorcycles. Others looked like dirt bikes, while others looked like mopeds. Some of them had pedals that looked operable while others looked decorative, and some had no pedals at all.  Most had battery packs on them. Many of the new devices I have seen on our transportation system do not fit the legal e-bike classifications as defined by State law.

What I was seeing was something new – an E-Moto, the colloquial catch-all name for things that somewhat resemble a bike or e-bike but operate more like an electric motorcycle, moped, or dirt bike. E-motos are what is concerning and make my job – and my colleagues’ roles across the region- more challenging, despite some real positive aspects. 

Like conventional “acoustic” bikes and legal e-bikes, e-motos can provide more freedom and mobility. They get people places faster and with less effort. They stretch the limits on how far people can go without a car or fixed-route transit. They also help foster a sense of community, especially with their peers and cohorts. They become tickets to a club- a club that was more exclusive until recently.  

New Options and New Safety Concerns

The internet is now flooded with different brands and models of e-motos available for a little more than the cost of an entry-level or mid-tier acoustic bike bought from a bike shop.  For a teen or tween who doesn’t have his or her driver’s license, these e-motos are this generation’s coveted gift. They are synonymous with the gifts past generations asked for–hoverboards, segways, go-carts, mini-bikes, BMX bikes, or the infamous Schwinn Sting-Ray equipped with a banana seat. On one hand, I see the same excitement I experienced in my youth. It brings me joy to see children outside, having fun, rather than being stuck inside their homes or with their face glued to their phones. 

Schwinn Sting-Ray equipped with a banana seat

However, there is something different about e-motos that makes me and thousands of other people concerned about the safety of our children and others. E-motos are too powerful to be treated like conventional bikes or e-bikes. They are capable of going well above the 20mph limit set for majority of e-bikes, with many going 40mph or higher.  They are much heavier than conventional bikes, meaning it takes longer for them to stop. When these bikes collide with something or somebody, they will do much more damage. What’s worse is that children, many who may have never taken a bicycle safety class or passed driver’s training are handed these e-motos with little to no guidance. They are given the freedom to ride on sidewalks, shared-use paths, bike lanes, and roads – all environments where they endanger themselves and others.

Within SEMCOG’s Transportation Safety Plan, “Younger drivers are identified as an emphasis area worthy of prioritization because “younger drivers … lack of sufficient experience to handle complex tasks of driving and emergency situations…[and] tend to engage in risky behaviors such as speeding and allowing shorter headways when operating a motor vehicle. Although such behaviors are sometimes unintentional, young-driver crashes generally result from errors in attention, failing to recognize hazards, and driving too fast for conditions.”  

In other words, younger drivers and by extension young e-bike and e-moto users, don’t have the life experience to safely share the road or path. 

So, we are handing powerful motorcycles, racing dirt bikes, and mopeds to even younger people who may be even more likely to engage in risky behavior. Anecdotally, we see this everyday with multiple children riding an e-moto built for one person or kids blowing stop signs and riding too close to other people on walkways and bikeways.   

We see them riding the wrong way on our roads. Many of them aren’t wearing helmets, and the kids who are wearing helmets may be wearing a bike helmet which is not sufficient for e-moto use and cannot hold up to higher speed crashes. We see people knowingly hacking their e-motos so they can go even faster, exasperating problems and making enforcement even harder. 

These e-motos are more like motorcycles than bicycles, and motorcycles are another emphasis area from our Plan: “When a crash occurs, motorcycle riders are much more vulnerable than passengers of any other vehicle. Nationally, motorcyclists, per vehicle mile traveled, are about 28 times more likely than passenger vehicle occupants to die in a crash. Various factors, such as impairment and excessive speeds, have been identified as contributing factors to the occurrence of motorcycle crashes. The lack of proper licensing and training are also areas of major concern.”  

We have also seen more motorcyclist fatalities since the repeal of Michigan’s law mandating helmet usage.

Making Sense of the New Environment and Misleading Product Names

Are parents knowingly buying their children, some as young as 10 years old, motorcycles, racing dirt bikes, mopeds, and mini-bikes? Do they think it’s okay to operate these high-powered devices on sidewalks and roadways? 

It’s unlikely that parents are suddenly deciding to be more reckless about safety. Rather, a communication breakdown or deliberate miscommunication by vendors, manufacturers, and websites is resulting in decisions that carry significantly higher risks.   

If you go online and search for the term “e-bike,” thousands of options come up, but most are not e-bikes.   

Example of a typical search result for the term “ebike”.

In Michigan, to be an e-bike the device: 

• Must have a motor that is 750 watts or less 

• Must have operable pedals 

• Can only go a maximum of 20mph (Class I and II) or 28 mph (Class III) 

• Cannot be modified or “switched” to higher speeds or power 

Anything that does not meet these parameters is not an e-bike but an e-moto, even though most are marketed as “e-bikes,” showing pictures of kids riding the e-motos on roads and paths. They market different modes, which can be switched easily to go faster. I can’t really blame busy parents who likely don’t know the differences. 

We can’t blame the kids either, as if we were their age, many of us would probably want the same thing (to go farther, faster). To this end, many organizations are creating materials to help parents and others tell the difference, especially before buying an e-bike or e-moto. The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office has created an excellent graphic for law enforcement and parents alike. Other communities, such as Pittsfield Township, have also created similar products to help guide residents.

Above are three example brochures created by local governments to educate and communicate local or state laws on e-bikes and e-motos.  Sources: Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, Pittsfield Township, and the City of Monroe.

This is all helpful information, but serious crashes are still happening. Children are getting injured or killed. People – whether walking on sidewalks and paths or driving in the road – are encountering children on e-motos engaging in reckless behavior. And when these incidents are reported, they are incorrectly called e-bikes. This inaccuracy lumps together two different types of devices—ones that are legally bicycles and another type that are not even defined in law but are basically motorcycles, mopeds, and dirt bikes. This confusion muddies the waters and prevents accurate data from being reported.  

While the risks of these new devices are real, so too are the risks of an overly aggressive approach to managing them. Local communities, who see the problem but may not necessarily know the differences, are scrambling to come up with ordinances to address the safety of our children. This laudable impulse may be inadvertently banning access to residents who are aging or disabled by outlawing all e-bikes for all ages and abilities. It doesn’t matter whether the bike can only go 20 mph or 40+ mph—they are all treated the same.

Moving Forward Together to Prioritize Safety and Access

SEMCOG recently held a community dialogue on the differences between e-bikes and e-motos as part of its SEMCOG University Series. We heard from experts at the League of Michigan Bicyclists (LMB), the Office of Highway Safety Planning (OHSP), the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), and Programs to Educate All Cyclists (PEAC), before local communities shared their own stories. 

Panelists at SEMCOG’s SEMCOG University on E-Bikes and E-Motos
Top photo: John Waterman, Founder and Executive Director, PEAC, and Co-Chair of the Southeast Michigan Civic Advisory Committee (CAC) speaks about the need to allow some types of e-bikes which can serve as vital tool of transportation mobility  for people with disabilities.
Bottom photo: Quinn Passmore, Vulnerable Roadway Users, School Bus Safety, and Preventing Roadside Deaths Program Coordinator, OHSP, speaking about micromobility trends while John Waterman of PEAC, Timothy Novak of the DNR, and Andy Rohrer of LMB are seated left to right.

The experts are unified in their messaging that there are clear differences between e-bikes and e-motos, especially when it comes to speed, crash severity, trail maintenance, and accommodating the needs of people with disabilities. Faster speeds exacerbate issues that traditional bicycles have — turning, sight distances, stopping distances, reaction times, and crash severity. We learned about best practices from local communities and some practices that should be discouraged.  From local government participants, we learned that:   

• Most (73%) are thinking about developing an ordinance, but only 10% have one.
• A majority (67%) are concerned equally about Speed; Age of Rider; Dangerous behavior by the rider; and Danger to other residents. 
• A plurality of participants (48%) would like to see an enhanced state-wide law to target e-mobility devices, while 28% would like support on model ordinances.

Attendees at SEMCOG’s SEMCOG University on E-Bike and E-Moto Safety

Additionally, SEMCOG has held conversations on e-bikes and e-motos at planning meetings including the Civic Advisory Committee and the Southeast Michigan Active Transportation Committee. We are also incorporating the e-moto topic into our Legislative Policy Platform and preparing materials for inclusion on its Safe Streets Southeast Michigan Traffic Safety Education Campaign. 

Information and resources regarding e-bikes and e-motos are available on our new e-bike and e-moto webpage, including the slides and recording from the SEMCOG University.

We are collecting local ordinances so we can better assess what has been created and what will likely be the best policy elements to share with State legislators. Some of the questions we ask when reviewing rules and ordinances are:

• Does the ordinance clearly define e‑bike/e‑moto/scooter classes?
• Does it specify where each class can legally operate?
• Does it align with State law?
• Does it address safety, speed, or infrastructure?
• Does it anticipate other emerging micromobility issues?
• Does it provide exceptions for those people with disabilities?
• Does it provide rules based on age and/or experience?

In the coming months, SEMCOG hopes to educate local governments and State legislators on how to effectively increase safety for all road and pathway users, especially our children, while also finding ways for mature adults to continue to access legal e-bikes that can increase an individual’s mobility and prosperity. To that end, you will likely hear more about e-bikes and e-motos at future meetings such as the Transportation Safety Action Committee, the Transportation Coordinating Council, the Communicators Network, and the Legislative Policy Platform Task Force. More news will continue to emerge into 2027, especially after Michigan’s next legislative term begins. 

Until then, I ask you and everyone you know to spread the word with these takeaways: 

• There are clear differences between E-Bikes and E-Motos, with e-motos likely causing most of the safety concerns upon our roads and walkways.
  • E-bikes are defined in State law, while e-motos are not.
  • E-motos are effectively electric motorcycles, mopeds, or racing dirt bikes.
  • E-moto manufacturers and dealers will often call their devices e-bikes, even though they function like motorcycles, mopeds, and racing dirt bikes.
    • Look carefully at the specifics of each device before purchasing one, especially for a child.
  • E-bikes are used by people of all ages and abilities including older bicyclists and people who may not be able to operate a conventional bike due to disability.
  • Use the correct term when reporting on e-motos
• Speed is the biggest difference between the two device types, which exacerbates existing problems like sight distances, stopping distances, and crash severity. 
• A motorcycle helmet is needed to help protect e-moto users from severe brain injury.
• Most tweens and many teens are too inexperienced to operate e-motos without additional training. They are effectively driving motorcycles. More education is needed.

At SEMCOG, we appreciate your concern to this topic and commitment to making our roads, sidewalks, and trails a safer place for all to travel.  

View our e-bikes and e-motos page