Mother charged after son hits pedestrian

[Old-tool-guy]

14 yr old boy on e-cycle hits and kills an old man in Orange County calif, mother is charged for the crime. Good, maybe parents will start takinggsome responsibility. She had been warned previously about his riding and that she could be charged. She could get 7 yrs in prison.

 

[Gionnirocket]

I hope she was charged with the correct UL listed charger... or that can be a fire hazard

 

[Tom@WashDC]

We've had several Sheriff Dept sponsored meetings and HOA meetings because parents are purchasing electric bikes (motorcycles) and scooters for their kids and it is unlawful or against local rules to ride them on paved trails, sidewalks, streets, community roads, and school grounds. Many ride without protective gear. So many parents are shite.

 

[Biplaneguy]

During the 1970s parents were purchasing minibikes for kids, either the cheap "frame bikes" with Briggs & Stratton engines or the fancier Honda 50 (and some, like me, mounted lawnmower engines to old pedal bikes with varying degress of success or safety ). The difference was, we all knew they weren't legal for road use, and they didn't look like anything that was street legal, so there was no confusion. City kids didn't have them, but there were a few in every suburban neighborhood.

When the first mopeds came out during the 1970s gas crisis, the rule (at least in NY state) was you had to have a drivers license (not necessarily a motorcycle license) to ride it on the roads.

 

[Tom@WashDC]

During the 1970s parents were purchasing minibikes for kids, either the cheap "frame bikes" with Briggs & Stratton engines or the fancier Honda 50 (and some, like me, mounted lawnmower engines to old pedal bikes with varying degress of success or safety ). The difference was, we all knew they weren't legal for road use, and they didn't look like anything that was street legal, so there was no confusion. City kids didn't have them, but there were a few in every suburban neighborhood.

When the first mopeds came out during the 1970s gas crisis, the rule (at least in NY state) was you had to have a drivers license (not necessarily a motorcycle license) to ride it on the roads.

My brother and I had minibikes from Sears Roebuck Co back in the early 70's. We never thought of riding on streets or side walks. We lived in a rural area, but the public roads and sidewalks were verboten.

 

[EMGX]

Over the last few months I've seen kids riding and doing wheelies on Emotos, some with pedals, some without, in parking lots, in groups on sidewalks and taking the lane on surface streets. As well as a maybe 6 year old riding a moto (no pedals) zipping along on a sidewalk in town and once facing traffic on a rural two lane road without shoulders bouncing around within a couple feet of the road edge. Parents with no consideration for the safety of their children or others they may injure. My state doesn't appear to really need any new laws to reasonably regulate this because it only officially recognizes the three classes of ebikes and has regulations for mopeds (pedals or not with throttle capable of up to 30mph) requiring registration and driver license. Anything more than this is classified as a motorcycle requiring motorcycle operator license, insurance and registration. So, as I understand it, an "ebike" observed doing over 20mph using throttle = moped, throttle over 30mph = motorcycle (pedals or not). Obviously LEO would have to practice some discretion if the speed is related to going down hill or other grey area but much of the time it is pretty obvious what is being ridden based on current regulations - ebike vs moped vs motorcycle. Puilling a few of these kids over and contacting their parents would probably curtail a lot of this, especially with notoriety of the Orange County case noted in this thread.

 

[LandoftheGiants]

broken home single mom probably. Moms are great rewarders but are lacking on the discipline side. Or so a local cop told me.

 

[chunk]

I've seen the roving gangs of the 14 year olds on those electric motorcycles. In Ventura CA they are everywhere. I'm a motorcycle rider as well and have no problems with kids on bikes, but what they're riding need to be registered, insured, and the operator needs to meet basic requirements, like a drivers license and at least 16 years old with a proper helmet. The problem is mostly the parents are disinterested and don't have a clue.

 

[6zfshdb]

Around here, they're called "Ride Outs" and are often sponsored by bike shops that sell E Moto and Suron type bikes. They border on being illegal, and unfortunately, the public sees them as E-bikes, which they are NOT!

 

[stompandgo]

We had a couple of kids on Sur-Rons show up at the shop yesterday looking for a Tektro caliper bleed screw. They rode there 2-up on the streets, with the bike having only one brake. Darwin is watching.

Yes, we had a bleed screw and sold it to them.