Orange County commissioners will on Tuesday consider approving an ordinance to regulate electric bicycles, or e-bikes, and other micromobility devices.
The proposal comes amid local news reports of rising injuries involving e-bikes. Children have been seriously injured or killed while using e-bikes, including in Orange County, as reported by the Orlando Sentinel. The American College of Surgeons has described e-bikes as an emerging “public health hazard.”
RELATED: Orange County working on local e-bike, e-scooter regulations
Defining an ‘e-bike’
The Department of Transportation defines electric micromobility devices as small, low-speed transportation devices powered by electricity.
Florida law breaks up e-bikes into three distinct classes, based on how fast they can go and whether or not they can be powered exclusively by an electric motor, without pedaling assistance. All e-bike classes have fully operable pedals, a seat or saddle and an electric motor of less than 750 watts.
A moped is not an e-bike, according to Florida law. And in Orange County, electric motorcycles or e-motos would be defined separately from e-bikes, should the micromobility ordinance become effective.
It’s a key distinction, according to Bike/Walk Central Florida President Emily Bush. Notably, electric motorcycles can reach higher speeds than the 20 or 28 mile-per-hour e-bike maximum speed outlined by state law.
The pending Orange County ordinance would reiterate the state’s definition of an e-bike. But beyond that, it would also create a definition for the e-moto, as a vehicle without fully-operable pedals, powered by more than 750 watts of electricity, with the capacity to exceed 28 mph.
E-motos would not be allowed on county sidewalks, bike paths or trails. In order to be used on public roads, they’d need to be licensed, registered and insured according to state motor vehicle laws.
Bush said said Orange County’s pending ordinance could help guide other local jurisdictions — and the state of Florida — as they continue evaluating how to regulate e-bikes.
“Something that the state is now looking at is how to define what these vehicles aren't, so that our law enforcement community has more teeth to pull them off the roads and impound the vehicles that aren't e-bikes but pretend to be one,” Bush said.
RELATED: Winter Park’s new rules require training for e-bike riders under 16
Regulating behavior
Beyond making that e-moto distinction, Bush said she appreciates that Orange County’s proposed ordinance emphasizes regulating the behavior of people using micromobility devices — not the devices themselves.
“We shouldn't be getting (too) hung up on defining the device. Because those (devices) are going to change,” Bush said.
A few years ago, one-wheeled electric skateboards didn't exist, Bush said, in just one example of how quickly micromobility device technology is changing.
“What is really going to keep people safe, regardless of how they're rolling or walking in their community?” Bush asked. “And that really comes down to speed. That comes down to safety: safe practices, safe behavior, and being sure that we're providing them the proper spaces to do so.”
Orange County’s pending ordinance would create maximum speed limits for micromobility devices: 10 mph on sidewalks and shared-use paths; and 28 mph on roads and road shoulders, bike lanes, and bike trails.
The proposal would also prohibit the use of micromobility devices for street takeovers or stunt driving, both of which could involve performing “wheelies.”
Ideally, county residents would have access to more parks and off-road recreational areas to try jumps and tricks like “wheelies,” Bush said. But regardless, Orange County’s proposal would ban those activities on streets and sidewalks.
“They're regulating wheelies, and aggressive and speeding behavior, in places where it's mixing with people that are walking, or kids that are going to school,” Bush said.
The proposal would activate potential penalties for people who break the micromobility device rules, such as fees or even impoundment of the device. Ultimately, Bush said, it will come down to how well and consistently the county enforces those penalties.
“It's one thing to say: ‘Go 10 miles an hour on a sidewalk,’ but it's another thing to actually see that enforced,” Bush said.
Should a person under the age of 18 repeatedly violate rules under the proposed ordinance, their parent or guardian “may be subject” to penalties, based on the discretion of the responding law enforcement officer. Bush, a parent herself, said she wouldn’t mind seeing even harsher penalties for parents as well as a child who continues to break the law.
Still, Bush said, enacting the county’s micromobility device proposal would make it safer to use them.
Earlier this year, state lawmakers approved a bill that would have required law enforcement agencies to track crashes involving micromobility devices, and report those numbers to the state. While Governor Ron DeSantis vetoed the bill, Bush said she anticipates seeing additional legislative proposals come before lawmakers again next year.
