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Canonsburg police are to be commended for taking a proactive approach in an effort to avert certain disaster from occurring on borough roadways.
In the wake of an accident that could have had tragic consequences, police took to social media to urge parents to educate themselves about electric bikes and motorcycles. The warning came after two children - ages 8 and 12 - were injured when their e-bikes collided with a motorist in a parking lot.
"It's a big problem, not just here in the borough but everywhere," police Chief Alex Coghill told the Observer-Reporter, Washington County's newspaper about two weeks ago. "People have been saying it for the longest time that somebody's going to get hurt, somebody's going to get killed, and we just had two kids who got hurt. Thank God they weren't killed."
Fortunately, the children are recovering from their injuries, but we are left wondering why two children so young were operating the motorized bikes in the first place. State law requires e-bike operators to be at least 16 years old.
For the uninitiated, e-bikes are traditional bicycles equipped with a motor to assist in pedaling. They are classified into three categories that range from pedal-assist up to 20 mph to exclusive electric propulsion similar to a moped, with some powerful enough to reach speeds of 28 mph.
The issues they pose are not exclusive to Canonsburg as communities across the country are wrestling with the misuse of e-bikes both on and off the road. Some local communities, including Peters Township and Upper St. Clair, have gone as far as enacting their own rules to regulate their use.
In addition to the age requirement, Pennsylvania law states the bikes must weigh less than 100 pounds and have lights, operable pedals and an electric motor 750 watts or less. The vehicles can't travel faster than 20 mph under motor power alone, and can go where traditional bikes are permitted, unless otherwise prohibited. Above all, riders must adhere to the same rules of the road as motor vehicles.
According to the U.S. Consumer Product and Safety Commission, e-bike injuries and deaths are on the rise. The vehicles were associated with hundreds of thousands of emergency room visits and hundreds of fatalities between 2017 and 2024.
In 2024, Pennsylvania state police investigated 345 vehicle crashes involving e-bikes, including two fatalities.
The injuries sustained in e-bike accidents are usually more severe than those on manual bicycles. Head injuries happen most frequently, according to the American College of Surgeons, with only a third of the injured wearing helmets. While state law does not require bike riders 12 and over to wear helmets, some municipalities, like Peters, mandate those under 21 wear them.
To be clear, our goal is not to discourage the use of electric bikes. When used responsibly and lawfully, they offer both recreation as well as an economical alternate form of transportation. The problems arise when the vehicles are misused.
"We need parents to educate their kids that a bicycle is a vehicle and it's dangerous if it's used in the wrong way. If you're riding an e-bike, you have to observe all of the traffic regulations - you have to stop at stop signs, you can't weave in and out of traffic, you can't dart out from parked cars, you've got to go the speed limit. We're seeing kids popping wheelies, not observing traffic regulations, and it's really dangerous," Coghill said.
The rules are intended for the safety of both e-bike riders and the pedestrians and fellow motorists with whom they share the road.
Let's follow them.