How Orange County can build a more comprehensive cure
Thank you, Voice of OC, for your insightful coverage on e-bike safety challenges facing Orange County. It’s been compelling to watch city after city grapple with how to protect their communities, especially teens, as Orange County explores this exciting new form of micro-mobility. David Rynerson’s article, “E-Bikes Aren’t the Problem: Unsafe Riders Are,” makes important points that can help our communities and kids stay safer. I agree with many of his insights, differ on a few, and feel there’s generally more to add. As someone who cares deeply about e-bike safety, I hope to build on his valuable observations and further the conversation about how we can best address these challenges.
Let’s agree with David that we’ve all come across irresponsible e-bike riders. It’s why I refer to this as the teen e-bike craze. And I understand his desire to blame riders who have been, I admit, reckless or even dangerously aggressive. But I believe there’s more to it, starting with the current limited conveyor-belt of solutions: Educate, then Educate Again, then Punish.
To clear this up, it’s first vital to differentiate education from behavioral psychology and then determine how we might put them together to produce safer teen riding. Most teens intend to follow the rules they’ve been taught, so our cities normally start with education. After that, we need more focus on behavior management.
The Bad, The Worse, And the Downright Ugly
Normal kids are sometimes careless. They forget to clasp their helmet buckle. They forget the rule not to invite passengers. That happens even more often when we’re looking at those still in middle school. The younger they are, the more their brains need to develop. There’s a chapter on this in my book, The Caring Parent’s E-Bike Survival Guide. So, it’s not a simple matter to treat teen and tween e-bike riders the same way we treat car drivers. Those ticketed, licensed drivers are at least 16 years old, and most are older, with the ability to own their mistakes. With children, enforcement tends toward leniency, at least at first. Tickets (say, the first two) are usually administrative citations leading to a diversion program. We give our kids the chance to learn better. I’d like to see more research on e-bike programs, but that probably works for a lot of infractions.
But we also have to look at what causes aggressive riding behavior. Further breaking down the chicken-and-egg problem between bike and rider, I honestly believe that it’s part rider, part retailer. Those power wheelies in traffic might just be the result of an under-regulated industry in which some business owners compensate influencers to encourage and model risky behavior.
In the same way that cartoon characters have been used to sell tobacco to children, charismatic young men riding dangerously have been used to peddle (without pedaling) illegal maneuvers and street takeovers on their exciting bike brands. They never seem to clarify in those energetic videos any difference between what they’re marketing and what’s legal and maybe safe for a 12-year-old kid to ride. So, if it’s not the bike, itself, then perhaps we can agree that the problems include manufacturers and retailers who use influencers to promote antihero behavior. And of course, when cities punish teens for riding recklessly, it only boosts that antihero mindset the kids have been sold.
Now, can diversion programs help those kids too? We divert kids away from traffic or criminal courts in the hope that education or some form of counseling will be enough to curb the behavior. With e-bikes, the diversion programs are still under construction. Some designs use a mild form of punishment — a boring timeout — for teens and a parent over a couple of hours. A more nuanced approach will help teens resist marketing ploys and accompanying peer pressure. The Bellemont Project is about to introduce a new diversion program based on behavioral psychology that will help parents and their kids brush off the sales pitches.
If We Build It, They Will Behave
When I began work on the Bellemont Project, I had nearly been mowed down while walking in my neighborhood. Like a lot of adults, I just wanted the behavior to stop. But then I saw another teen performing stunts that would rival Cirque de Soleil. The truth rang out. Who are we to pull the plug on talent?
And then I remembered a teaching axiom: Control the setting to manage the behavior. In fact, misconduct can be prevented under normal circumstances with an engaging and challenging environment.
Skateboarding was once the scourge of the sidewalks. Now, it’s an Olympic sport. Some credit goes to skateboard parks. Some, to training camps. We can create similar opportunities for today’s teen riders, even e-motocross for our speed demons. Here’s the kicker: Once kids start training for a sport, our cities must require them to keep their street behavior legal to qualify for competitions.
Weeks ago, I saw a group of e-bike riders at the Great Park zooming their e-bikes up a small rise, maybe 6 feet, to catch air and land on an undeveloped lot. Later, the Bosque multi-use path opened with an awesome little playground near the main park. Recently, I noticed that the bare lot had been fenced off, and instead the teens were riding at the playground. They raced up and down some padded inclines and bumps. Perhaps it was the start of local pump tracks for e-bike riders — something I’ve recommended in my book. If not, we should be looking at its potential. We could build actual stunt-riding tracks away from cars. Portable tracks are available that the cities and county could move as needed.
Motivating better behavior is one piece of the picture. Ultimately, we’ll need to think bigger. In the coming months, I’d like to present some ideas that are worth discussing.
To that point, David ends with, “Let’s regulate behavior, not the tool.” I suggest amending that to: Let’s manage the behavior, consumer awareness, civic leaders’ policies, infrastructure planning, and enforcement training while making sure the bikes are sold honestly.
Yeah, it’s more complicated. But we can do this. I know because we’ve done it before.
Beth Black founded the Bellemont Project with a mission to solve community e-bike safety challenges. As a UCI-trained social ecologist and credentialed teacher, she served as a writer and editor for Toastmasters International World Headquarters, where she wrote most of the Toastmasters Youth Communication Program. With six years of experience operating a successful Orange County e-bike store known for its excellent safety record, Black authored The Caring Parent’s E-Bike Survival Guide. Through the Bellemont Project, she delivers a wealth of knowledge and professional insight as a comprehensive six-point plan for improved e-bike safety.
Opinions expressed in community opinion pieces belong to the authors and not Voice of OC.
Voice of OC is interested in hearing different perspectives and voices. If you want to weigh in on this issue or others please email opinions@voiceofoc.org.