Letter: Some battery-powered rides barely regulated

Battery-powered bikes, skateboards, unicycles, 3- and 4-wheel wheelchairs and buggies have proliferated rapidly with little or no regulation or licensing (“Hawaii rolls out rebate program for e-bikes, electric mopeds,” Star-Advertiser, Feb. 28).

Many are as heavy and fast as gasoline-powered scooters, mopeds and motorcycles that require a license (for both operator and vehicle), safety inspections, minimum operator age, running lights and operator training and testing. The e-bike/scooter world seems to have only minimal registration requirements and unenforced rules for operators.

Children under 16 ride them day or night with no supervision; they speed on sidewalks and bike paths where motorized vehicles are prohibited; and are driven night and day without headlights or taillights on streets and highways.

State Sen. Chris Lee and the Legislature should at a minimum treat the e-bike/scooter/buggy/cart world as motorized vehicles and require the same level of operator training, safety equipment and inspection, and rules of the road applied to mopeds and gas-power vehicles.

Garnett Howard

Ewa Beach

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