Should it be legal for kids to ride ebikes?

[john peck]

They all look like they are having so much fun!!

I don´t think it´s a real good idea for bikes with training wheels.

 

[Mulezen]

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[c3strom_echo]

I remember in Japan the motor power is limited to 200W, is that the reason they allow children to ride an e-bike?
but I definitely reject my daughter ride an e-bike, until she's 12.

 

[shiruba]

It really depends what an "Ebike" is. In Japan, the term had no legal meaning and had only been used in the last few Years to denote spotry ebikes like the Yamaha ypj and manasoc X lines.

The PAS line in the pictures above, and almost all other bikes with a battery in Japan are much more utilitarian and less sporty. These "power assist" bikes have limited gearing (usually the gears) and the motors are designed solely to help you make it up step inclines with heavy loads.

Some the image of a typical battery powered bike in Japan is the thing mom uses to go to the grocery store, people don't see them as dangerous in general. It's not like the situation seen in the US where basically electric motorcycles are bring called "ebikes".

I wouldn't want a 10 year old kid riding a bike with a throttle, no speed limit, and a 2000 watt motor, but PAS bikes are tine.

 

[shiruba]

I remember in Japan the motor power is limited to 200W, is that the reason they allow children to ride an e-bike?
but I definitely reject my daughter ride an e-bike, until she's 12.

Technically the wattage isn't limited by law, by but almost all PAS bikes are 250 watts. The power output is, however limited to twice the rider's power up to 10KPH, and it drops from there down to zero when you hit 24kph. For this reason, throttle ebikes aren't legal and nobody bothers with a super powerful motor.

You can get what is called an epedelec in europe (fast Ebike), but that's no longer classified as a bike at all. I have one which I rarely use. It has a 1000 way motor, but it also needs brake controled brake lights, turn signal blinkers, a motorcycle certified helmet, license plate, insurance, taxes, and all that good stuff. I'm sure you need to be off a certain age to get a license, so kids won't be riding those.

 

[AstroTurf]

as i tell my daughter when she complains about grandpa being too exuberant with his grandchildren...

hey, dont worry, if i break these... you can always have more!

(she generally just turns and leaves)

LOLz

ps the gov ought not tell us what to do with ours.

 

[john peck]

What do you think?
Apparently kids in Japan are riding ebikes to go to school.

In the US and Canada, it is illegal for anyone under the age of 16 to ride ebikes. (law varies by state or province, obviously)

Here's the school system in Japan:
Elementary - Gr. 1-6
Jr. High - Gr. 7-9
High School - Gr. 10-12

Although elementary schools are usually within walking distance, as soon as they enroll in junior high (Grade 7), they typically ride bicycles to go to school.
Parents are buying their kids ebikes, and the Japanese ebike companies, Bridgestone, Panasonic and Yamaha are marketing their ebikes for grade 7 kids entering junior high.

These ebikes are approx.100,000 yen ($935) give or take.

250w, what´s the worst that can happen? A lot of soccer moms won´t be driving hatchbacks? I worry
more about electric skateboards. The other day I was climbing a gentle rise, not in any hurry, & some kid
on a board zoomed past me like I was standing still. He had to be doing 30 mph.

 

[mschwett]

Technically the wattage isn't limited by law, by but almost all PAS bikes are 250 watts. The power output is, however limited to twice the rider's power up to 10KPH, and it drops from there down to zero when you hit 24kph. For this reason, throttle ebikes aren't legal and nobody bothers with a super powerful motor.
...

with a definition like that, i'd be OK with my 10 year old riding an e-bike. i let her ride our electric scooter turned down to it's slowest mode. she's reasonably cautious (for a 10 year old girl LOL) but speed brings with it uncertainty - you never know when someone is going to pop out of a driveway or do some other unpredictable thing, and reaction times and braking rates are limited for all people, kids or not.

she's a very strong and athletic kid, but we have 20% hills right next door, and a low power e-bike would let us take more direct routes sometimes... but i would not support anything that could put down a couple hundred watts unless the rider was doing the same.

 

[ruffruff]

pftt in terms of safety from age 12 on I was:

On a Honda 100cc dirt bike all summer
On a SkiDoo Olympic all winter.
My parents had no idea where I was most of the time.

I shutter to thing of all the stuff I crashed into, ran over, broke, slammed into.

 

[mjeds]

Like anything it depends on the person.

I have neighbors that have all of their kids on dirt bikes and ATVs starting at age 5, They are all under 16 years of age and have been riding dirt bikes for several years, so I would think they can handle an e-bike.

Other kids can’t manage a normal bike without crashing in to parked cars.

 

[PDoz]

Thanks for reviving this old thread - it reminded me how much my 12 yo has advanced in the past 6 months.

Unfortunately my predictions were wrong. I DID get a light emtb ( levo sl) but he prefers my old giant so I'm getting a LOT of exercise trying to keep up on the hills. Instead of telling him to slow down for objects I just request he slows down and waits at intersections.

Now, should a 12 yo be allowed to drive?

 

[J.R.]

Thanks for reviving this old thread - it reminded me how much my 12 yo has advanced in the past 6 months.

Unfortunately my predictions were wrong. I DID get a light emtb ( levo sl) but he prefers my old giant so I'm getting a LOT of exercise trying to keep up on the hills. Instead of telling him to slow down for objects I just request he slows down and waits at intersections.



View attachment 95132


Now, should a 12 yo be allowed to drive?


View attachment 95134

My uncle taught me how to drive a pickup truck at 14. Heavy clutch and three on the tree

Congrats on a great riding buddy!

 

[rawlus]

If it were me, i wouldn’t be just gifting expensive ebikes and electronics as that tends to create kids who have little concept of money or how it is acquired and how to properly care for this stuff, and knowing kids who’s parents spoil them endlessly, the kids are assholes, disrespect everyone and complain when they don’t have the latest tech. But i hate kids so my feelings may not be aligned with the majority.

 

[ActionJackson]

If it were me, i wouldn’t be just gifting expensive ebikes and electronics as that tends to create kids who have little concept of money or how it is acquired and how to properly care for this stuff, and knowing kids who’s parents spoil them endlessly, the kids are assholes, disrespect everyone and complain when they don’t have the latest tech. But i hate kids so my feelings may not be aligned with the majority.

Excuse me but you seem to have missed the fact that they’re also unvaccinated, unhygienic, and generally unhealthy to be around. I did send them my old iPad. Once. Before Apple started giving a trade in.

 

[Coolbob]

We live in a semi-upscale neighborhood just outside the city limits with 3 to 5 acre lots, 2,400 to 6,000 square foot family homes. With the combination of relative affluence and minimal county law enforcement the children are frequently on the streets driving golf carts, 4 wheelers, side by sides, electric scooters, skateboards, hoverboards and fast, throttle operated bikes. By now it's tapering off as most of last year's Christmas toys have broken or they are bored with them, but there will be a fresh batch of toys this Christmas and our streets will be filled with lots of kids riding around. Rarely do I see any of them wearing helmets.

 

[mjeds]

We live in a semi-upscale neighborhood just outside the city limits with 3 to 5 acre lots, 2,400 to 6,000 square foot family homes. With the combination of relative affluence and minimal county law enforcement the children are frequently on the streets driving golf carts, 4 wheelers, side by sides, electric scooters, skateboards, hoverboards and fast, throttle operated bikes. By now it's tapering off as most of last year's Christmas toys have broken or they are bored with them, but there will be a fresh batch of toys this Christmas and our streets will be filled with lots of kids riding around. Rarely do I see any of them wearing helmets.

have to cull the heard somehow.

 

[PDoz]

We live in a semi-upscale neighborhood just outside the city limits with 3 to 5 acre lots, 2,400 to 6,000 square foot family homes. With the combination of relative affluence and minimal county law enforcement the children are frequently on the streets driving golf carts, 4 wheelers, side by sides, electric scooters, skateboards, hoverboards and fast, throttle operated bikes. By now it's tapering off as most of last year's Christmas toys have broken or they are bored with them, but there will be a fresh batch of toys this Christmas and our streets will be filled with lots of kids riding around. Rarely do I see any of them wearing helmets.

I share your horror, but also question my completely emotional judgement. I live in an even higher risk environment ( small rural farming community in a low socioeconomic region)

But I'm also a product of the 1980's in Australia. I saw compulsory helmet use decimate generations of cyclists , the obesity outcomes, even poor risk assessment skills in a population taking up driving cars who had never cycled or developed speed / depth perception skill in a shared road usage enviroment. I've trawled and considered the health data and recognised that until recent helmet advances there really isn't much scientific proof to support reductions in all cause mortality or morbidity from widespread bicycle helmet usage.

I'd quietly go so far to suggest that putting helmets on the person controlling a potentially lethal projectile might encourage a higher risk acceptance behaviour and put other public space users at increased risk.

So next time you see mr moron without a lid - smile smugly?

 

[ActionJackson]

I'd quietly go so far to suggest that putting helmets on the person controlling a potentially lethal projectile might encourage a higher risk acceptance behaviour and put other public space users at increased risk.

Thankfully other people with your attitude towards safety are changing their minds or disappearing.

 

[PDoz]

Thankfully other people with your attitude towards safety are changing their minds or disappearing.

Fascinating that you chose that quote , are you familiar with the concept of risk compensation behaviour?

Are you seriously arguing that we should force protection on the operators at the cost of them putting innocent bystanders at risk ?

 

[Coolbob]

I am not in favor of compulsory helmet laws for bicycles or eBikes, but I'm surprised so many parents provide their kids with high-risk (and in some cases illegal to use on roads) forms of transportation without purchasing and making the kids use helmets.