Some cities have put their own restrictions in place when it comes to electric bikes, e-scooters and other similar vehicles, but police chiefs have called for a statewide fix.
Now, more regulation could be coming to Illinois if Gov. JB Pritzker signs a bill passed in Springfield before the end of the spring session.
“Behaviors are not getting better. They’re getting worse,” said Lombard Police Chief Joe Grage.
Grage said it’s the teen problem of the summer in Lombard: Kids as young as 13 riding electric bikes, scooters, even motorcycles. Since April 1, Lombard has had 89 911 calls related to the devices.
“Some of these riders are actually riding the middle of the street, doing wheelies, intentionally interfering with traffic, putting themselves in harm’s way,” Grage said.
Last year, he focused on education. This year, his focus is enforcement.
“We’ve actually stopped 37 riders, written tickets, impounded seven of them. We’re starting to impound them, just very dangerous behaviors,” he explained.
In Lombard, e-scooters are banned from the sidewalks downtown, but he said a bill passed by the Illinois General Assembly could make a bigger difference in helping solve the problem. To operate a class 1 or class 2 low-speed electronic bicycle, riders have to be at least 15 years old. Riders who are 16 years old or older can operate low-speed gas bicycles, which could have a top speed of 28 mph.
E-bikes over 28 mph would be required to have a license, registration, a title and insurance coverage.
“What the law does for us is it sets expectations. So, when the public calls us and we say, ‘there’s nothing to address it currently,’ that’s frustrating for the caller, as well as the police department trying to handle the complaint,” Joe Leonas, the chief of police for the Village of Lincolnshire.
Daniel Salinas, the owner of the Electric Bike Store on Chicago’s North side, sees a need for increased regulation, but he does have one concern with the bill.
“There’s a lot of bikes that go 28 to 30 mph, maybe 32 mph, that are now going to be illegally going over by a couple miles an hour. If they had passed it to 35 mph, they could have avoided a lot of that gray area,” Salinas said.
He added, “I see a lot of Uber Eats drivers. They have a lot of bikes that go 35 mph, which is fine for them, but technically now (if the bill becomes a law), they’ll have to get license plates and registration.”
A spokesperson for Pritzker said he will review the legislation. If he signs it, it would take effect in 2027.
“That that’ll give parents the ability to look at their purchases, look at what they have today and make some decisions for the future, so it’s not catching them off guard,” Leonas said.
Grage said if they are able to catch children and teens on e-scooters, they have to make contact with their parents. The parents do not always realize how fast their children could be going.
“Parents in our community, depending on the circumstances, can actually be issued the citation in lieu of the child, or both, and that’s happened a couple times,” Grage said.
He also warns that there could be dire consequences.
“If we do catch someone who’s riding one of those electric motorcycles, it’s a motorcycle, and they could get a ticket for no license, no insurance, no registration.” Grage said. “If your child does not have a license yet, it may make it more difficult to get one when it’s time to do that, as well as insure them.”
