We have kids riding e-bikes that don’t really have an understanding of the power they have, or the responsible they have in riding them.”

Bari Freeman, Bike Newport

E-scooters growing in popularity, too

Barrington Middle School Principal Dr. Andy Anderson said they saw only a handful of students riding e-bikes to their school last year, but they saw two to three times as many, upwards of 18 to two dozen, riding electric scooters. While e-bikes can travel 20 miles per hour, so can electric scooters.

“A lot of kids are using the electric scooters, and it is concerning how fast they go,” Anderson said. He said they saw a couple of scary incidents last year, especially at school dismissal time, when more experienced scooter riders let their friends test-ride them.

“In a busy parking lot, with cars and people everywhere, it can get scary,” Anderson said.

He would support additional training for students on all electric-powered devices — bike, scooter or otherwise — because middle school students have two strikes against them. Because of their age, they have only limited experience on these machines, and because of their age, they don’t always make great decisions.

“Any training is good training for middle school-age students,” he said.

A leading bike advocate believes strongly that everyone riding a bicycle needs training and education, and that applies even more strongly to the growing population riding around on electric bicycles, commonly referred to as e-bikes.

Bari Freeman is the founder and executive director of Bike Newport, a nonprofit group devoted to advocacy and education about the use of bicycles. Bike Newport works to promote bike access, bike safety, bike usage and bike infrastructure.

Freeman and her team recently received an $8,000 Rhode Island legislative grant to run new e-bike training programs, including in-school education. She said e-bikes are clearly growing in popularity, and even though relatively few children are riding on them, they expect those numbers will increase — whether they should or not.

“We are definitely seeing more kids, and adults, on e-bikes. They are definitely becoming very popular, very quickly,” Freeman said.

She does not believe pre-teens or even young teens should ride electric bikes. “Children should not be riding e-bikes. They don’t have the cognitive or physical skills to handle them,” Freeman said.

With power, comes responsibility

E-bikes come in different shapes and sizes, most falling into one of three separate classes. The first — Class 1 — were just added to the list of acceptable devices permitted on Rhode Island’s regulated bike paths. These types of e-bikes require a rider to pedal in order to engage the electric motor, and they stop providing power when the bike reaches 20 miles per hour.

Class 2 bikes have a throttle, so someone can ride along at high speeds without even pedaling. Class 3 bikes require the rider to pedal, but they are bigger, more powerful and keep providing power until the bike reaches 28 miles per hour.

That power is what separates e-bikes from traditional bikes, especially for young people.

“We have kids riding e-bikes that don’t really have an understanding of the power they have, or the responsible they have in riding them,” Freeman said.

Last school year, Bike Newport was contacted by administrators at Gaudet Middle School in Middletown, who asked the advocacy group to come to the school and deliver an education program to a group of students who were riding e-bikes to school. It turned out to be only 8 or 9 students, but Freeman worries about the proliferation of these machines among young people.

“You put kids on something with power, well they’ve never been on anything with power,” she said. “It’s another dimension.”

Education for all bikes

Freeman is of course pro-bicycle of any kind. She said e-bikes encourage people to switch from cars to bikes for short trips — which is good for the environment. She said e-bikes help some people, older or with physical limitations, access routes they might not otherwise, like up and down tough hills — which is good for personal fitness and health.

Yet with these bikes must come education, she said.

“I would argue that every person needs bike education,” Freeman said, referring to bikes of all kinds. “Education is the foundation of a safer system, and we don’t have that right now. We just haven’t had the education built into our system. That’s step one.”

E-bikes present their own challenges, and she encourages riders of all ages to take advantage of training opportunities. “That’s where we come in with a curriculum and plan for people who are on e-bikes, so they’re prepared to ride them,” Freeman said.

Bike Newport runs a six-week bicycle summer camp. That’s where state Reps. Lauren Carson, Terri Cortvriend and Marvin Abney went last week to deliver the $8,000 grant (it was also supported by Rep. Alex Finkelman). At the camp, they met young bicycle riders, including members of Bike Newport’s youth task force.

Freeman said the task force has been instrumental in helping the adults understand the kids. “Rather than walking into a room and just telling the kids what to do, we’re learning from them, about how they’re riding, where they’re riding,” Freeman said. She believes they are building a better education program because of it.

The in-school education programs will begin this coming school year, supplemented by community education programs that target adults as well. Freeman said the e-bike program is really their standard bike education – where to ride, how to signal, rider rights and responsiblities — plus more e-bike specific material.

“We absolutely want to encourage kids to ride bikes to school, and we want to make sure it’s safe for kids to ride bikes to school,” Freeman said. “But this isn’t just about kids. Anyone who is on an e-bike should go through this program.”

Bike Newport is conducting dual-language training programs, in both Spanish and English, in an effort to reach as many people as possible. Rep. Cortvriend supports all these efforts and believes the education is critical.

“I am concerned about the safety of these bikes, and I agree with her [Freeman] that everyone needs to learn about how to ride them,” Rep. Cortvriend said. “I think they should come with some training, especially for kids who haven’t gone to driver’s ed. It’s important that we educate kids.”