Most e-bike and e-scooter riders just want a faster way to get to work and school. But as more reckless riders cause chaos in the city, Orlando commissioners are considering banning the vehicles from sidewalks and putting a 15 mph speed limit on bike paths.<\/p>\n
During a workshop Monday, the City Council were shown videos of dozens of riders brazenly blowing through downtown intersections doing wheelies, blocking ambulances, and even getting in altercations with drivers.<\/p>\n
On July 18, a bike cop is seen tackling two riders to the ground and handcuffing them as several dozen more riders continued around the scuffle, depicting the difficulties law enforcement has in containing e-bikes.<\/p>\n
Since Jan. 1, Smith said his officers have had 813 \u201cinteractions\u201d with e-bikes and e-scooters, mostly traffic stops. Of those, there were 46 crashes with injuries, 17 battery charges, 14 involving drugs, 10 hit-and-runs with injuries and 12 hit-and-runs involving a minor.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost of the incidents we\u2019re having, the e-bikes are found to be at fault,\u201d Smith said. \u201cMost of the time, it\u2019s juveniles.\u201d<\/p>\n
Orlando would be joining a number of local jurisdictions, including Orange County Public Schools and the city of Winter Garden, in passing regulations for e-vehicles. Orange County commissioners are also considering doing so.<\/p>\n
But local governments face restrictions of their own when trying to regulate the devices. Cities can\u2019t impose criminal penalties for violating so-called micromobility ordinances, nor can they treat them in law the same as motor vehicles.<\/p>\n
Last week, the city of Deltona dropped its newly enacted 18-and-above age requirement for e-bikes after Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said the ordinance was unenforceable, according to the Daytona Beach News-Journal.<\/a><\/p>\n E-bikes and e-scooters have surged in popularity in recent years, with more than 1 million sold annually, according to the Department of Energy. But nationwide, riders accounted for 59,200 emergency room visits in 2024.<\/p>\n In Orange County last year, more than half of emergency room visits linked to the vehicles were among people 19 years or younger.<\/p>\n Colton Remsburg, a 13-year-old seventh-grader at OCPS\u2019 Innovation Middle School, was fatally injured when he was struck by a pickup truck while riding an e-scooter in May in Lake Nona.<\/p>\n Commissioner Tom Keen, who represents the Lake Nona area, urged Smith to ramp up enforcement of helmet laws. Smith said hundreds of students leave schools in all directions daily on e-bikes and e-scooters, usually with the helmet hanging from the handlebars as opposed to on their heads.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s one of the harder ones to enforce \u2026 writing a $62 ticket to a 12-year-old is not high on our list,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n As classes start back up Tuesday for Orange County Public Schools, the district has banned e-bikes and e-scooters from elementary and middle school campuses. High school students can ride them only if they have a driver\u2019s license or learner\u2019s permit.<\/p>\n