A study published by the medical journal Trauma Surgery and Acute Care Open, finds that e-bike use–especially by younger riders– is increasing and yields “an exponential increase in e-bike injuries in California.” Kids are getting injured and dying at elevated rates, according to the report. As reported by KTLA.com,. more research will be undertaken, but you know the explosion of e-bikes and scooters (some left in the middle of the sidewalk after rental, and many riding on the sidewalks) is a big business and is a major mode of transport for many. And law enforcement has had to deal with outbreaks of gangs of e-bikers taking over streets.
According to reports from The Los Angeles Times, the coastal corridor of the South Bay—including Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, and Redondo Beach—has seen an escalation in volatile encounters involving youth groups on e-bikes. In one severe incident covered by FOX 11 Los Angeles, a 56-year-old pedestrian was cornered and knocked unconscious by a group of teenagers riding e-bikes in a Hermosa Beach alleyway. Local school administrators from the Manhattan Beach Unified School District later confirmed that the juveniles involved were middle school students from neighboring Manhattan Beach.
Further inland and down the coast, local authorities are dealing with similar social-media-coordinated gatherings that have disrupted communities and turned dangerous. In Santa Clarita, KTLA News reported that a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department motorcycle deputy was hospitalized after a teenager riding a dirt-bike-style e-bike veered into the deputy’s path during a traffic enforcement stop. Meanwhile, in Orange County beach towns like Huntington Beach, the Los Angeles Times detailed an incident where a resident walking through a crowd of over 100 e-bike riders was swarmed and violently assaulted by several young men.
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