Throttle E-Motos: Mostly Illegal; Always Dangerous

This project is driven by three factors: 

• the “e-bike” serious injury rate for 10-15 year olds is 500% higher than other age groups;

• this age group favors throttle devices over “pedal assist” e-bikes; and

• most of the throttle devices are actually motorcycles or “e-motos”* and not street legal.

In 2024, we began working with Safe Routes to Schools to ban these devices in Marin schools. We advocated for passage of AB 1778 which now authorizes Marin County and its municipalities to require throttle e-bikers to be at least 16.  These resulting ordinances went into effect in most places in Marin County effective July 1, 2025. 

We continue to call on law enforcement officers to enforce these laws against e-motos. We also call on the state Attorney General and county District Attorneys to investigate and prosecute the companies that are making and selliing e-motos mispresented as e-bikes.

Expanding our geographic reach beyond our home Marin County, we are now working with Safe Routes to Schools and others to curb e-motos in Contra Costa, San Mateo, and Santa Clara counties. Next stop: Southern California and its beach communities that are also plagued with e-motos.

* Unlike legal throttle e-bikes with top motor-assisted speeds of 20 mph, “e-motos” can go 30-50 mph or more with the simple turn or push of a throttle.  To be legal, the driver must be licensed and the vehicle must be registered with DMW, insured, and safety equipment.  Few if any meet those requirements.  Thus, they are not street-legal for any age rider. 

We urge parents not to buy or allow their children to ride any throttle device.  Children should be encouraged to ride regular bicycles or, if needed, a pedal-assist e-bike, not a throttle e-bike and certainly not a throttle e-moto even if it has a Class 2 e-bike label.

Friends don’t let friends throttle; nor should parents!