Every single day when school lets out in Laguna Niguel, the sidewalks and intersections transform into a chaotic, unregulated racetrack. You see kids my age who are maybe twelve, thirteen, fourteen years old that are zipping through traffic on electric bikes at thirty miles per hour. Most of them aren’t wearing helmets, many are carrying passengers on the back of frames not built for them, and almost none of them know the actual laws of the road.
I am twelve years old. I am deeply invested in politics, and I plan on running for public office the moment I am legally old enough to get my name on a ballot. But right now, I am watching a public safety crisis unfold in my neighborhood, and I refuse to sit on the sidelines and wait six years until I can vote to do something about it.
We don’t need any more vague statements, thoughts, or prayers from our local elected officials. We need concrete action.
The current approach to e-bike management in Orange County is broken because it relies entirely on wishing people would make better choices. But a twelve-year-old on a vehicle that weighs seventy pounds and travels at highway-equal speeds cannot simply be willed into driving safely. When you give a child that much horsepower without training, you are setting them up for a catastrophic accident. I have watched my own classmates and friends end up in the emergency room with severe concussions, broken bones, and road rash because they lost control of their throttles. Two of my personal friends, whom I shall not name for privacy reasons, sprained their wrists falling off e-bikes.
This isn’t about banning e-bikes or ruining anyone’s fun. E-bikes are an incredible tool for youth independence and green transportation. But true independence requires accountability.
That is why I launched the unofficial Implement E-Bike Safety Reform Now Petition. It is a direct pressure campaign built around a crowdsourced, five-point safety framework designed to force lawmakers to act:
- Age Restrictions on Fast E-Bikes: We need a clear, statewide framework restricting the operation of high-speed Class 2 and Class 3 e-bikes to individuals aged 16 and older. Middle schoolers do not have the peripheral awareness or reaction times to handle sudden traffic shifts at high speeds.
- Mandatory Speedometers: You cannot expect a minor to obey a local speed limit if their vehicle lacks the basic instrumentation to show them how fast they are moving. Speedometers must be a mandatory factory standard for street-legal e-bikes.
- A Localized Licensing System: Before a teenager can take an e-bike onto public pavement, they should be required to pass a basic, county-administered safety and rules-of-the-road test to earn a youth operating permit.
- Real Parental Accountability: Laws mean nothing without enforcement. If a minor is caught operating an e-bike recklessly or violating safety codes, their parents should face a mandatory $160 citation. If parents face a financial consequence, they will finally start regulating what their kids do online and on the streets.
- The Youth Bike Safety Fund: Every single dollar collected from parental safety citations should be legally locked into a localized fund dedicated entirely to building protected bike lanes and running youth safety seminars in schools.
The response to this campaign proves that the community is desperate for a solution. In a short period, our petition has gained significant traction in the community, drawing over 335 signatures from concerned parents, drivers, and cyclists who are terrified of an inevitable tragedy. I have already taken these data points directly to Laguna Niguel City Councilmember Ray Gennawey to advocate for city-level changes.
This momentum has unlocked a direct seat at the legislative table. On July 7th, I am stepping into a virtual strategy meeting with Assemblywoman Laurie Davies’s Capitol Director to pitch this five-point framework for state-level consideration. I have also launched weekend physical petition drives at various locations.
In my opinion, sadly, Lawmakers only move when they feel the weight of public pressure. If you are tired of near-misses in your neighborhood, or if you want to protect the kids in your community from life-altering injuries, sign this petition to keep kids safe.
Alex Guess is a 12-year-old student living in Laguna Niguel, California. He is currently leading a regional grassroots lobbying campaign to pass comprehensive youth e-bike safety legislation.
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.
