Bikes and E-bikes - Keeping Children Safe

A growing trend is the popularity of bicycles, especially electric bicycles.  By 2023, it is estimated that 130 million of the over one billion bicycles in the world will be electric.

The first patent for an E-bike dates all the way back to 1895.  E-bikes got their boost when Pedal Electric Cycle, now known as pedal-assist, was invented in 1989.  The motor is triggered when any pedaling action is registered by the bike which is in place of a throttle to work the motor.  By 1992 the Dolphin Electric Bike was offered to consumers.

Lithium Ion battery technology breakthroughs have made e-bikes more efficient, lighter, and with a greater range which has caused the surge in popularity making them the fastest growing segment in the cycling market.  These bikes are popular with adults and children alike, and we are noticing more and more children riding them.  As e-bike popularity increases, the purchase price is decreasing.

The People for Bikes, which is an advocacy group whose mission is “To get more people riding bikes more often and to make bike riding for everyone”, helped California pass model legislation for e-bikes in 2015.  California was the first state to pass such legislation which outlines three different classes of e-bikes which are as follows:

• Class 1:  A pedal assist e-bike with a top motor assist of 20 mph.
• Class 2:  A throttle-actuated e-bike with a top motor assist of 20 mph.  The motor may be used without pedaling to propel the bicycle. The throttle looks like a gear shifter and is operated with the thumb.
• Class 3:  A pedal assist e-bike with a top motor assist of 28 mph.
• + 28 mph Electric Bikes:  There are electric bikes, technically electric motorcycles, that will exceed the 28 mph speed, and can easily operate at 50 to 60 mph.  They look very similar to the three classes of e-bikes as they have pedals.  These are not permitted on public roads as I write this, and state legislatures will have to decide how to regulate these vehicles.  
  

Children of any age may ride a Class 1 or Class 2 e-bike in the State of California, and they must wear a helmet just like when riding a pedal bicycle.  A rider has to be 16 years of age or older to ride a Class 3 e-bike, but does not need a Driver License.  All riders, even adults, must wear a helmet while riding Class 3 e-bikes.  In most places, Class 3 e-bikes are not allowed on dedicated bicycle trails or multi-use trails; they may be ridden in on-street bicycle lanes.

If you decide to purchase an electric bicycle for your child, be aware that some makes of e-bikes have a “race track mode” on the LCD screen that allows the speed governor to be temporarily disabled.  In addition, it is very easy to disable the speed governor on e-bikes that do not have “race track mode”.    A crash at 30 mph has four times the energy as a crash at 15 mph.  The term “speed kills” is true.

Besides the automobile, bicycles cause more childhood injuries than any other consumer product.  On average, about 100 children in the age 5 to 14 year old age category lose their life in bicycle accidents each year and over 254,000 are injured.  The good news is that both deaths and injuries from bicycle crashes have been declining significantly for the past 45 years.  That may be due to the fact that bicycle riding in general has been on decline.  In 1969, 48 percent of children between 5 to 14 years of age walked or rode a bicycle to school.  By 2009, that percentage had plunged to just 13 percent according to the National Center for Safe Routes to School.  E-bikes may reverse the trend and cause an increase in bicycle riding for children between the ages of 5 and 14.

When I taught, a bicycle riding unit was included in my physical education curriculum.  We involved the DARE officers from our police department in this unit, and bicycle safety was a big part of the unit.  As a culminating activity, our students completed a 30 mile round-trip bicycle ride which was something to which my students looked forward.  I wrote bicycling lesson plans for the California Bicycle Safety Network, and I was involved in several bicycle safety conferences.  From my experience, the following ideas should be taught and emphasized with children regardless of whether they ride an e-bike or a pedal bike.

Helmets:

Helmets are the number one piece of equipment for keeping children safe on bicycles and e-bikes, and they have contributed to the decline in bicycle deaths among children.  Only 41% of children in the 5 to 14 age group wear a helmet and 35% of that group wear them improperly.  This is a nation-wide statistic, and California has a law requiring bicycle helmets for children under the age of 18.  To work, a helmet must be correctly worn.

The first step in correctly wearing a helmet is to be sure it fits.  Heads, like feet, come in different sizes; therefore, have your child try on a helmet before buying it.  I preferred to take my children to a bicycle shop to have their helmets fitted even though helmets were more expensive there.  If you choose to buy your child’s helmet at a big box discount retailer, have him/her with you.  Your child can try on the helmet in the parking lot, and you can easily take it back if it doesn’t fit.  The helmet should sit level on your child’s head, and the front edge should be about an inch or less above the eyebrows.  Two fingers is a good measurement for this.  The bottom of the V in the straps should be at the earlobe.  The fit should be comfortable, and when you touch the helmet with your hand it should stay on your child’s head.  It shouldn’t move backward.

It is the Styrofoam that protects the head in a fall.  The plastic shell is there to hold the straps and protect the Styrofoam from the sun’s UV rays as these rays destroy Styrofoam.  If the helmet’s plastic shell is missing, it’s time to buy a new helmet.  Teach your child to leave their helmet out of direct sunlight.   To illustrate how a helmet works, I liked to show the video Jello in a Jar.  This seven and a half minute video emphasizes that the human brain has the consistency of Jello and the skull protects the brain about as well as a thick-walled glass jar.  It is a bit dated, and it is available on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rc5wbpfT3gc

Children’s Sense of Space - Their Situational Awareness:

A child is aware of what is going on in their direct line of vision.  He/she is not very aware of what is happening in her/his right and left peripherals or what is happening behind him/her.  The awareness of everything around an individual is called situational awareness and it is critical to safely riding a bicycle, ebike, and eventually driving an automobile.  

When I taught bicycling, this was a difficult skill to master for my sixth grade students who are 11 and 12 years of age.  To practice this skill, we would set up a round course.  Each time a student turned the corner there was a person holding a colored card against their chest that could only be seen if the student looked over her/his shoulder.  Students who play sports have a greater developed sense of situational awareness.   Soccer, basketball, and hockey are especially good sports for developing situational awareness.

Bicycle riders need to be equally aware of the space around them and not only what’s happening in front. Be aware of this with your children when teaching them to ride.  Teach them to scan the roadway from left to right to left when riding straight.  

Rules of the Road and Bicycles in the State of California:

Both bicycles and e-bicycles are considered part of traffic and share the road with other vehicle drivers.  They have the same responsibilities and rights as the drivers of automobiles, and they must obey stop signs, traffic signals, and all other traffic laws.  By law, drivers must treat bicycle riders the same as drivers of other motor vehicles.  With that said, I always teach bicycle safety through the lens of the safe, safer, and safest way to ride.

The only exceptions to traffic law regarding bicycles and class one and two e-bikes is that they may operate on a sidewalk in some municipalities.  Bicycles and all three classes of e-bikes may not be ridden on the freeway.

Right of Way:

Of the 27 municipalities in Orange County, California, approximately half allow bicycles (this would include class 1 and 2 e-bikes) to be ridden on sidewalks, and the other half do not.  Even municipalities that allow cycling on sidewalks usually prohibits cycling on a sidewalk in a business district.  Check with your municipality to see what the cycling ordinances are.

On a multi use trail the yielding rule is as follows:  horses have the right of way, then pedestrians, then inline skaters, and then cyclists.  On a sidewalk in a municipality that allows cyclists to ride on them the pedestrian always has the right of way.  The law does not say specifically how yielding is to take place, so this falls under cycling edicate.  Cyclists should pass a pedestrian on the left, and when  riding from behind a pedestrian,  the cyclist should give warning such as saying, “Passing on your left”.  When a sidewalk is congested with pedestrians, the cyclist should dismount and walk until it is clear to ride.

Direction of Traffic:

Cyclists have to ride going in the same direction as traffic while riding as close as possible to the right side of the road.  In the United States, driving, riding, and walking all move in the same manner.  The right shoulder should be on the right of a passageway when walking.  This includes streets, hallways, sidewalks, and even the aisles in grocery stores.  Teach your child how to walk on the right when walking in public spaces.  It’s a good idea to instill this into them from the time they begin walking.  If your child is cycling on the sidewalk, he/she should be riding on the right and on the sidewalk on the side of the street going in the same direction of traffic he/she is traveling because when he/she enters the street to cross, it is against traffic.  In addition, he/she is entering a street in a position where the driver of an automobile is not used to checking.  Sometimes it is not practical to ride on the sidewalk in the direction of traffic, so be sure your child is aware of this when she/he goes to cross the street.

Crosswalks:

Bicycles and ebikes may not be ridden in a crosswalk in the state of California.  The exception is a crosswalk for multi-use paths.  Cyclists on multi-use paths function as pedestrians by activating the pedestrian signal and waiting for the signal to change in their right of way.  The safest way to cross a street is to dismount and walk the bike across the street.  A cyclist who wishes to ride across the street needs to ride where the bike lane would be.  Crosswalks are often off-set from the corner and to ride in one a cyclist who is riding on the street must turn right and then swerve to the left.  This is dangerous because it gives a driver intending to make a right turn following the cyclist the impression that the cyclist is turning right, too.  Crosswalks are painted white at intersections; yellow crosswalks are school crossings.

Intersections:  

An intersection is any place where a line of traffic meets another.  Children are aware of intersections where there are traffic signals or stop signs; however, an intersection also includes where a residential  driveway meets the street and a shopping center entrance.  Because there is no stop sign or signal, children don't think they need to stop, and due to their situational awareness they often aren’t aware of oncoming traffic.  More than 80 percent of fatal bicycle-related crashes among children ages 14 and under are caused by the cyclist’s behavior.  Examples include riding into a street without stopping, running a stop sign, and turning left or swerving into traffic without looking over the shoulder.

In intersections with no stop signs or traffic signals, the through street always has the right of way.  In my experience, this is a rule of the road few children know, and this should be emphasized with young riders.  Teach your children to always look left, right, left when approaching an intersection.  They should look left first since traffic coming from the left is closer.  Then check right.  Look left again before riding for any traffic that might have been missed.  Teach children to repeat the left, right, left scanning as they move through the intersection.

Intersections with Stop Signs or Signals:

In California, a stop sign means a bicycle rider must make a full stop at the limit line.  Children often do not know where the limit line is which will be the white line painted on the street or the first line of a crosswalk.  The states of Idaho and Oregon allow bicycle riders to yield at stop signs which allows riders to omit stopping if there is no traffic.  The other issue with stop signs that children have difficulty understanding is when they are riding in a group.  When riding with others, each bicycle is its own vehicle and must make a complete stop.  At four way stops, each vehicle must take turns.  Teach children that the safest way to do this is for them to make eye contact with the driver of an automobile to ensure that the driver sees them and that it is their turn to cross.

At a red signal, teach children to stop behind the limit line.  A yellow signal is confusing for young riders.  If the bicycles wheels have crossed the limit line, then the rider should pedal as fast as possible to leave the intersection.  If the wheels haven’t crossed the limit line, then the rider should stop.  The safest way to cross a traffic controlled intersection is to dismount the bike and walk it using the crosswalk.

Leaning Through a Turn:

A vehicle with two wheels like a bicycle turns differently than one with four wheels like an automobile.  Children need to learn to lean as they are turning rather than relying on the handlebars to turn the bike.  This is an important skill for a child to learn especially when riding an e-bike because of its speed.   The higher speed a bicycle or e-bike is ridden at the more unstable it becomes when turning using just the handlebars. To learn the skill, teach the child to try leaning when turning.  To break down a leaning turn, drop the outside pedal (the one away from the lean) to the 6:00 position and press weight on it.  If turning right, it will be the left pedal.  The inside pedal will be at the 12:00 position away from the lean.  Lean the bike by pushing lightly on the handlebar with the inside (right) hand and pulling up slightly with the outside (left) hand.  The upper body should be vertical as the bike angles over and weight is put on the left pedal.  To turn left, the steps are reversed.  Do not pedal through turns.  Emphasize that these are tiny movements as the bike will tilt with ease.  It is a strange sensation if it has never been done before.

Turning Left:

It is completely foreign to children to look over their left shoulder when turning or swerving left.  This is another skill that children need to practice a lot as the swerve out is a leading cause of juvenile bike crashes.  As a rider rides on the right of the road, the rider may need to move left to avoid a parked car or debris in the gutter. Emphasize that your children look over the left shoulder when teaching this skill.

When turning left at an intersection with a signal controlled left turn lane, it is completely legal for cyclists to use the left turn lane along with vehicle traffic.  This is not the safest method for children.  I taught children to plan their route with as few left turns as possible, and when turning left at a signal controlled intersection, I taught them to double-cross the street.  To double-cross a street, ride straight through the first intersection.  Dismount at the other side of the street and turn the bike facing the new direction of travel. Wait for the signal to change and cross the second intersection.  

Additional Equipment:

A tire pressure gauge and an air pump are a must for the riders of e-bikes and bicycles.  Bike tires lose their air pressure in about three weeks time.  I’ve found that many students who were struggling to ride their bikes had underinflated tires.  The squeeze test to check if the bike tire has enough air does not work as the tire still feels hard with half of its air pressure.  Teach your children how to find the air pressure on the side of a bike tire which is usually expressed as a range followed by the letters psi (pounds per square inch).  E-Bikes get a lot more range out of a battery charge with properly inflated tires.  The other number on the tire which is usually a decimal number times another number is the tire and tube size.  This comes in handy when purchasing a new tube to repair a flat.  I also recommend a high-quality chain lubricant and a bike lock.

In Conclusion:

Both bicycles and e-bikes are healthy ways for children to move and learn about their sense of space.  If the child is going to one day drive a car it is critical he/she learns to ride a bike first.  Traffic crashes are the leading cause of death in the 16-24 age group.  The skills learned in learning to safely ride a bike carry over to driving an automobile which makes roads safer for all of us.  The decision on the type of bike or ebike to purchase for your child is a difficult one to make.  Rules of the road and bicycle safety should be continually taught as your child refines his/her bike riding skills and rides further from home.  Remember that driving has become so automatic for us that these skills are in the subconscious.  Always emphasize the safe, safe, and safest way to ride.  The trend we hope to see is more children riding both bikes and e-bikes while both deaths and injuries from bike crashes continues to decline.