GAINESVILLE, Fla. \u2013 Connor Lynch was 19 when a car hit and killed him as he rode his electric scooter in Tampa near the University of South Florida.<\/p>\n
Two years later, his mother, Michelle Lynch, hopes state-level e-bike and e-scooter regulations could prevent other families from experiencing what she did.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe technology has outpaced the policy,\u201d she said, \u201cand the laws have not kept up with how quick and how fast these e-scooters and these e-bikes can go.\u201d<\/p>\n
As concern over e-bike crashes surges across the state, the Legislature passed a bill<\/a> to collect data on and create a regulating body for micromobility, an umbrella term for small, human and electric-power vehicles like e-bikes and e-scooters. The legislation \u2013 which passed this week in the House \u2013 has bipartisan support and gained backing from law enforcement agencies, insurance companies and local governments.<\/p>\n Micromobility devices don\u2019t require insurance or a driver\u2019s license, and they\u2019re typically cheaper than cars or motorcycles, making them popular alternatives to cars. Connor Lynch often used his scooter to avoid road traffic on the way to work, his mother said.<\/p>\n They can also go fast. Street-legal e-bikes can reach up to 28 mph \u2014 far faster than an average pedestrian, who walks at about 3 mph. Off-road ones can go faster, sometimes exceeding 40 mph.<\/p>\n E-bikes, e-scooters, pedestrians and cars alike share Florida\u2019s roads. And when the fast-moving vehicles collide, tragedy can ensue.<\/p>\n The legislation\u2019s House sponsor, Rep. Yvette Benarroch, R-Naples, said she\u2019s been working on her bill for about a year, after a 14-year-old boy in Naples died riding an electric motorcycle.<\/p>\n The bill establishes a task force made up of law enforcement, representatives of the micromobility industry and local government officials meant to \u201cencourage the safe operation of micromobility devices.\u201d<\/p>\n It also requires the state to collect data on micromobility crashes by October, including the age of the person riding the e-vehicle and whether they have a driver\u2019s license.<\/p>\n The state doesn\u2019t maintain data exclusive to micromobility crashes, meaning most law enforcement agencies file e-bike accidents under other categories, like bike or motorcycle crashes. Florida saw about 3,000 accidents involving pedestrians, bikes or motorcycles in 2024, according to state data<\/a>.<\/p>\n Though the state lacks a uniform measurement for micromobility crashes, some law enforcement agencies began counting accidents within their jurisdictions.<\/p>\n In South Florida, the Coral Springs Police Department counted 49 e-bike, e-moto and e-scooter accidents between September and March 1, according to a department spokesperson. About two-thirds of those incidents involved children.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the St. Petersburg Police Department reported five deadly e-bike accidents within about three months, a trend that led the department to conduct specialized traffic stops geared toward micromobility.<\/p>\n Sgt. Michael Schade, who works in the department\u2019s traffic division, said most e-bike accidents were caused by riders disobeying basic traffic rules, like running red lights and not stopping at stop signs. Since doing targeted traffic enforcement, along with social-media campaigns warning about e-bike safety, the department has seen fewer fatal or serious crashes, Schade said.<\/p>\n Most crashes Schade has seen involve adults. But he said parents sometimes buy micromobility devices for their kids without realizing they could be dangerous.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s a lot more significant a problem than people probably realize,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Legislation that standardizes data collection will help the department \u201ctarget problem areas\u201d across town and enforce traffic laws more closely, Schade added.<\/p>\n Concern is particularly geared toward underage e-bike riders, some of whom ride the devices before being old enough to drive a car.<\/p>\n On the southwest coast, the Collier County Sheriff\u2019s Office published a detailed document<\/a> containing information about county laws and micromobility safety, including a call for parents to help keep their children safe while riding. One slide recommends parents encourage their children to wear helmets and track their children\u2019s e-bike usage with apps like Life360. The sheriff\u2019s office lobbied for the safety legislation at the Capitol in September.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are grateful that Representative Benarroch has taken on this great safety initiative and is moving forward with sponsoring this bill,\u201d Sheriff Kevin Rambosk said in an email statement.<\/p>\n Driver\u2019s licenses were an early answer to the underage-driver problem. The original version of the safety legislation required e-bike riders to have a driver\u2019s license, a provision Benarroch called the \u201ccontroversial part\u201d of the bill for which \u201ca lot of people were emailing\u201d her.<\/p>\n The measure was removed from the bill in January over concern that drivers licenses would make e-bikes less accessible \u2014 a central part of their appeal for riders.<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes you got to put stuff there to grab people’s attention,\u201d she said. \u201cOur intent, at least mine and my Senate partner, was never to prevent people from going to work on an e-bike.\u201d<\/p>\n Kim Washburn, owner of Pedego Bikes in Gainesville, said she refuses to sell e-bikes to minors but sees parents buy them for their children often. She also conducts safety training before selling bikes, including test rides to practice starting and braking.<\/p>\n Helmets are another central part of bike safety, Washburn said. By state regulation, children under 16 are required to wear helmets while riding. But Washburn encourages all clients, regardless of age, to wear helmets \u2014 sometimes, she calls to alert the parents of college-aged riders if their children come into the store without one.<\/p>\n \u201cI don’t care if I upset them,\u201d she said. \u201cIf you ride that bike and I have saved your life, I can live with you being mad at me.\u201d<\/p>\n Florida isn\u2019t the only state aiming to regulate e-bikes. New Jersey this year passed a law requiring licenses, registration and insurance for the devices following an uptick in e-bike deaths. The law prompted backlash from some advocacy groups who say it discriminates against low-income communities that rely on the bikes for transportation.<\/p>\n Dozens of states including Florida separate e-bikes into three classes based on their maximum speed and electric capabilities. Class 1 and 2 bikes ride up to 20 mph, while Class 3 bikes reach 28 mph. In its new law, New Jersey overturned that classification system and grouped Class 2 and 3 bikes as \u201cmotorized bicycles.\u201d The state now requires documents for all e-bikes regardless of speed.<\/p>\n \u201cThat’s a bit much,\u201d Caleb Lower, the manager of Gainesville Electric Bike Garage, said of New Jersey\u2019s law.<\/p>\n Lower said legislators should create a fourth class of e-bikes to encompass those that ride faster than 28 mph. Those bikes, he said, should require licenses and registration to become street legal.<\/p>\n E-bike riders and drivers alike should be aware of their surroundings, he added, to prevent further crashes.<\/p>\n \u201cThere has to be a balance,\u201d Lower said. \u201cRight now, we’re in the wild west of the e-bikes, where it’s like anything goes. Everything’s a gray area.\u201d<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n This story was produced by Fresh Take Florida, a news service of the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications. The reporter can be reached at\u00a0alissagary@ufl.edu<\/a>. 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