Amid injury wave, Orange County pays to take e-bikes off the streets

Orange County has been leading the state (and in some ways the nation) with its aggressive stance against unsafe electric bicycle and electric motorcycle use lately. Citing a spike in injuries and at least one pedestrian death, officials in the politically and economically mixed coastal Southern California county have vowed to crack down on young riders who unsafely operate the often fast-moving two-wheeled vehicles — and, in some instances, to arrest their parents, too.

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Now the county is preparing for what may be its most unique plan yet: a gun-style buyback program of “unwanted e-bikes, pocket bikes, e-scooters, and e-motos,” per the office of District Attorney Todd Spitzer. Like the more common gun and weapons buyback plans that occur across America, community members can turn in unwanted electric bicycles, scooters and motorcycles in exchange for gift cards — no questions asked.

Considered by many to be the first of its kind in the nation, Orange County’s e-bike and e-moto buyback program is part marketing effort and part safety initiative. “These vehicles are not child’s play, and the consequences are incredibly dangerous and increasingly deadly,” DA Spitzer says in a for the Sept. 13 event in Anaheim. “We are doing everything we can to protect people and save lives. I want these illegal and illegally modified vehicles off our streets and out of the hands of riders who have no business riding them.”

Of course, not all e-bikes and e-motos are illegal in California (or illegally modified), and cycling advocates stress that the distinction between safe and unsafe riders — and slower e-bikes versus faster, license-required e-motorcycles — matters greatly. While data from UC San Diego and the California Statewide Integrated Traffic Record System show dramatic jumps in crashes, particularly among children ages 11 to 14, many crashes are attributed to high-speed e-motorcycles, not slower e-bicycles.

Orange County says it wants them all.

The Buy Back Safety program, running Sunday, Sept. 13, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Angel Stadium, will offer gift cards in various denominations ranging from $200 to $1,000, depending on the type of vehicle being turned in. Small pocket bikes, some of which run on gasoline, will earn $200, while e-bikes and e-motos will earn more depending on classification and power size. Gift card retailers include Target, Walmart and Dick’s Sporting Goods. The first 75 people at the event will also receive tickets to an upcoming Angels baseball game.

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The highly publicized buyback program allows the DA’s office to once again publicly tout its tough-on-crime approach to unlawful e-bikes, e-motos and their riders. In May, Spitzer announced the creation of a crackdown task force called RIDE SAFELY that will pair education with increased rules enforcement, and in August, the county piloted a new electric bicycle and motorcycle registry program, which officials hope to see implemented statewide.

Meanwhile, officials at the state level are also ramping up efforts to tighten control over e-bike and e-moto riders with a variety of bills aimed at, among other things, growing educational programs for teen riders and holding manufacturers and stores responsible for accurately labeling the vehicles at the point of sale.