Electric bicycles, or e-bikes, are quite popular in Costa Mesa and across California. Teenagers and adults alike may use e-bikes for local transportation and recreation. Riders should be careful to ensure they comply with traffic laws to ensure their safety and limit the risk of a ticket.
Confusion about the law may lead to altercations and injuries. E-bike riders who ride in the wrong locations or who violate traffic rules could face liability for crashes they cause. Other times, e-bike riders may have legal protection and the right to hold drivers who are at fault for collisions responsible.
Those who are familiar with Costa Mesa’s unique rules regarding e-bikes and bicycles are in a better position to respond to scenarios wherein people sustain injuries due to e-bike operation or the conduct of others in traffic.
Can people ride e-bikes on sidewalks?
California state laws do not impose a blanket ban on riding bicycles or e-bikes on sidewalks. Instead, local traffic laws, as well as the size and speed of the e-bike, largely determine where people can ride. Class 3 e-bikes are faster than other e-bikes, so they cannot ride on sidewalks. Smaller e-bikes are sometimes legal to ride on sidewalks.
Local traffic statutes require that bicycle operators, including those on e-bikes, use designated bicycle lanes whenever possible. Especially on roads with higher speed limits, cyclists and e-bike riders should occupy bicycle lanes rather than sidewalks or standard driving lanes on the road.
When there are no bicycling lanes nearby, then e-bike operators and cyclists have two options. They can ride on the road while following all applicable traffic laws. They may also be able to legally ride on the sidewalk if there are signs nearby explicitly granting the right to do so.
However, they must do so at a reasonably safe speed (typically no faster than five miles per hour) and while properly monitoring their surroundings. E-bike operators should not create hazards for pedestrians on the sidewalk.
In cases where people get knocked down by e-bikes or where e-bike riders end up injured due to the conduct of drivers, the injured party may have the right to request compensation. Filing either an insurance claim or a personal injury lawsuit may be possible when an e-bike crash leads to serious injuries.
Simply being on the sidewalk does not necessarily make an e-bike rider the party at fault for a collision. Reviewing the details of a situation with a skilled legal team can help Costa Mesa residents better evaluate the circumstances of a recent e-bike crash accordingly.