EAGLE, Idaho — E-bikes are all the rage nowadays. Especially in this nice spring weather. But there's a new set of wheels out there causing havoc across the Treasure Valley. I'm your neighborhood reporter, Alexander Huddleston, speaking with one local bike mechanic and law enforcement to learn what kind of e-bikes are allowed on the road.
"When you see kids riding in traffic or even worse on the sidewalk, that's really putting people at risk," said Reed Cycle mechanic Gates Shrack.
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It's pretty common nowadays to see folks riding pedal-assisted e-bikes around town or on the Greenbelt. But something that's popping up on police scanners in the past year is a new style of e-bike that imitates something more like a motocross bike.
Eagle Police Officer Jeff Hazer shrugged, saying, "E-dirtbikes, as we are calling them, started becoming more common. We started having more problems with things like traffic with teenagers typically on these motorcycles."
Officer Hazer says the most common offenders are kids in the 14 to 15 age range.
"Speeding, doing wheelies up Eagle Road in middle lanes, not paying attention to traffic signals, and things of that nature. We've seen them go through the park where people are playing and enjoying themselves. We've had property damage from the tire as it goes through people's lawns. One went through the veterans cemetery in Eagle and caused damage to the cemetery," explained the officer.
Shrack sighed and said, "They are kind of a problem, and they give bikes a bad name."
Lately, local law enforcement is cracking down on this issue.
"If the way they are operating the scooter or bike can potentially hurt others because of the reckless behavior, they can receive a citation," added Emmett Police Chief Steve Kunka as he described a new ordinance in the works.
In some situations, even parents can receive tickets. To avoid that, authorities suggest that parents buy bikes for their kids at local shops, as many bike shops do not service these types of electric-powered dirt bikes.
Shrack finished by saying, "They don't have pedals. So we don't consider them bicycles. There are many e-bikers who use them correctly and how they are supposed to use them, and that's what they are intended for, and they work really great."
Eagle police says these kinds of e-bikes cannot be used on public roads or public property, but they can be used on private property. So when parents buy bikes for their kids to go to and from school, they need to know which ones are allowed to be on the road.
