A new measure to impose more regulations on the use of fast-moving electric bicycles on Oahu’s public roads, parks and sidewalks is being advanced by the Honolulu City Council.
A similar Council resolution also urges the state Legislature to “update and clarify” Hawaii laws related to “electric bicycles and electric dirt bike motorcycles.”
Both pieces of legislation are aimed at providing more e-bike safety, especially for younger riders.
Council member Val Okimoto’s Resolution 199 states that e-bikes and “the unlawful use of electric dirt bike motorcycles masquerading as e-bikes on or in the public roads, streets, bicycle paths and lanes, sidewalks, parks, and open spaces has increased dramatically in recent years, with 5,300 e-bikes registered as of March 2023.”
The resolution asserts Hawaii’s traffic code considers e-bike riders as all bicycle riders “riding upon a roadway generally have the same rights and duties as other vehicle drivers.”
“And must follow all traffic laws and obey all official traffic control signals, signs, and other devices applicable to vehicles, except as provided by specific regulations applicable to bicycle riders,” the resolution states.
However, “unlike 41 other states as of July 2023, Hawaii does not follow the 3-class system under which e-bikes are categorized by their speeds and level of assistance,” the resolution states.
According to the resolution, the proposed classes include:
>> Class 1 — A bicycle equipped with a motor that provides assistance only when the rider is pedaling and that ceases to provide assistance when the bicycle reaches the speed of 20 mph.
>> Class 2 — A bicycle equipped with a motor that may be used exclusively to propel the bicycle and that is not capable of providing assistance when the bicycle reaches the speed of 20 mph.
>> Class 3 — A bicycle equipped with a motor that provides assistance only when the rider is pedaling and that ceases to provide assistance when the bicycle reaches the speed of 28 mph and is equipped with a speedometer.
The legislation also states that “while only e-bikes that would be classified in Class 1 may be lawfully operated on Hawaii’s public roadways, e-bikes that operate at speeds exceeding Class 1 and even beyond speeds permitted in Class 3 — ‘out-of-class’ e-bikes — are frequently driven on public roadways.”
“Numerous public complaints have been received involving e-bike riders failing to observe the applicable laws, including riding on sidewalks in Honolulu,” the resolution states.
It notes that complaints include “riding in parks and open spaces; riding without a helmet when required; failing to observe rules of the road in traffic — weaving between lanes of traffic, or against or perpendicular to the flow of traffic; failing to observe speed limits and traffic signals; failing to yield to pedestrians; and performing ‘wheelies’ and other stunts on city roadways.”
The resolution asserts legal issues regulating e-dirt bikes also have hampered law enforcement.
“E-bikes are easily confused with electric dirt bikes, which are a type of two-wheeled, off-highway (or off-road) vehicle capable of driving off paved or gravel surfaces, such as trail and forest roads with rough terrain; and unlike e-bikes, dirt bikes are not ‘bicycles’ under state legal definitions because they lack operable foot pedals and most have a maximum speed capacity that greatly exceeds 20 mph — some up to 90 mph; and fall instead under the state law definitions of a ‘motorcycle,’” the resolution states.
And the resolution says e-bikes and electric dirt bikes “operated by lithium-ion batteries are potential fire hazards if damaged, overheated, overcharged, or not properly stored.”
Bill 52, a similar measure that mirrors Okimoto’s resolution, seeks to directly revise city laws related to the three classes of e-bikes.
Introduced by Council members Tyler Dos Santos-Tam and Augie Tulba on Thursday, the bill, as drafted, states that an e-bike is “a bicycle equipped with fully-operable pedals, a saddle or seat for the rider, and an electric motor of less than 750 watts.”
The bill also wants to ensure e-bikes that operate on Oahu meet the requirements of the three-class system.
“A few months ago, a 15-year-old in my district was hit by a car and taken to the hospital in critical condition. He had been riding an electric bicycle,” Dos Santos-Tam told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser via text. “Out in West Oahu, there have been numerous other instances leading to e-bikes being banned from schools.”
He added that “the lack of regulation around e-bikes means that kids are being put in danger.”
“Some of these e-bikes can reach speeds of up to 60 mph,” he said. “Right now, there are clear rules around pedal-powered bikes. There are also clear rules around mopeds and motorcycles. Because e-bikes are somewhat in-between, they exist in a gray area, and we desperately need to provide some clarity.”
He stressed that Bill 52 “does not outlaw e-bikes.”
“But it does outlaw them going as fast as cars, or being ridden without a helmet, or being illegally modified,” Dos Santos-Tam said. “Again, this is to provide clarity on a glaring gray area in the law.”
He said the measure “doesn’t add any additional penalties” upon suspected e-bike violators, either.
“But that’s a conversation we’re willing to have,” he said.
The Hawaii Bicycling League, which helped craft Bill 52, says the Council’s actions reflect similar changes involving e-bike regulations around the country.
“In general, we’re supportive of updating the definitions and the rules around electric bikes,” HBL Executive Director Travis Counsell told the Star-Advertiser. “Hawaii has an old definition of ‘e-bike’ in the state definition; it doesn’t really match the industry standards.”
He said the “old definition” of e-bikes “is oddly specific but not very broad.”
“It’s that an electric bike is a bicycle with a motor, less than 750 watts, that can propel an adult weighing 170 pounds up to 20 mph on flat ground, and it’s odd,” he said. “And basically, both of these — the resolution and Bill 52, more specifically — takes a more specific approach that aligns with the industry standards of Class 1, Class 2, Class 3 electric bike definitions.”
“A lot of that language comes directly from a national organization called PeopleForBikes that has helped draft, and get passed, the same language in a number of other states,” he added.
Meanwhile, safety concerns over e-bikes have risen across the state.
Accidents involving e-bikes also appear to be on the rise on Oahu as well, according to the Honolulu Emergency Services Department.
“E-bike popularity has been surging, and we’ve seen a corresponding increase in calls we have for bike accidents,” HESD Director Jim Ireland previously told the Star-Advertiser. “My feeling is the younger riders tend to be less experienced. We’re seeing a lot of kids and teenagers.”
Injuries include collisions with moving cars, parked cars and pedestrians on sidewalks, Ireland said.
He said EMS fields at least one e-bike-related call per week.
Under Hawaii law all kids under age 16 must wear a helmet while riding a bicycle. A person must be at least 15 years old to ride a “low-speed electric bicycle” registered to an adult household member.
The full Council is expected to hold a first reading on Bill 52, and potentially take action on Resolution 199, at its meeting Wednesday.
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Star-Advertiser staff writer Nina Wu contributed to this report.
