Brea’s e-bike fines are set to double in an effort to curb reckless riding – a trend that’s growing throughout Orange County, leading to injuries, arrests and deaths.
Fines will increase from $125 to $250 for the first offense, $250 to $500 for the second offense made within 12 months from the first violation, and go from $500 to $1,000 for three or more offenses that occur within the 12-month period from the first offense.
People are barred from riding e-bikes on sidewalks, unpaved public areas, recreational and equestrian trails, and public athletic facilities within the city, according to Brea’s electric mobility device ordinance. Additionally, people are barred from riding in public drainage facilities like culverts, ditches or channels.
Officers are also allowed to inspect e-bikes to determine if the rider is legally allowed to operate the device, if the officer suspects the device has been unlawfully modified, or authorized by law.
City officials unanimously approved to double the fines at their Aug 18 meeting with Police Lt. Chris Winger saying there has been a rise of violations despite prior efforts of enforcement.
“Despite public outreach and education, [and] collaborations with the Brea Olinda Unified School District in safety classes, the Brea Police Department has seen significant increase in violations of the e-bike ordinance,” Winger said during the meeting.
In addition, passengers are not allowed on e-bikes that are designed for only one rider. People under the age of 16 are also not able to ride ‘double’ regardless of the e-bike’s capabilities or design.
The police department partnered with Brea Olinda Unified School District to require students to complete a safety class and obtain a permit to commute to school and park their e-bike on school grounds – a program similar to Huntington Beach.
[Read: E-Bike Safety Registry Launches in Orange County, Looks to Partner With Schools & Police]
On June 2, city officials received an update about e-bikes and council members pitched the idea to double e-bike fines. Mayor Cecilia Hupp said that there are too many e-bike violations and that the fines need to be hefty.
“The only way that we are going to correct the behavior is if it’s painful,” Hupp said during the June 2 meeting.
According to the e-bike update presentation from city staff, there has been a 430% increase of e-bike and e-motorcycle injuries over the past four years. Additionally, 62% of crashes involve 11- to 14-year-olds.
In 2025, there were a total of 29 warnings, citations and arrests, and 21 collisions. In comparison, there were only three collisions in 2024, according to the staff presentation.
Much of the city’s discussion focused on juveniles, who make up the bulk of growing e-bike injuries and deaths throughout California.
“You got these kids doing wheelies coming down the streets and they are riding in packs of six or eight and they’re taking up the whole street and blocking traffic, and they don’t care,” Councilmember Marty Simonoff said at the June 2 meeting.
Simonoff, who supported doubling the fines, also said impounding e-bikes for violating city law could be helpful.
Currently, e-bikes can only be taken if it’s involved in a crime used as evidence, but modified e-bikes illegal under state and city law and e-motorcycles are impounded on the spot, according to Winger.
Councilmember Steven Vargas expressed concerns about how much the city is charging parents when there are also impound fines added to the overall cost.
Vargas said he wanted officers to allow parents to have an opportunity to retrieve the device rather than impounding it.
“If there’s an opportunity and it doesn’t have to be impounded, I’d rather the money stay with the parents than go to the towing company,” Vargas said during the Aug. 18 meeting.
Councilmember Christine Marick also said doubling the fines encourages safe behavior.
“The point of all these fees is to not have reckless operation of e-bikes and not have e-motorcycles, but the point is that people follow the laws as they exist and in which case you’re not paying any of these fines and nothing is being impounded,” Marick said.
Additionally, Simonoff said drones can be used for enforcement.
Marick said residents can call in sightings of unsafe e-bike operators, so police can send out a drone.
“Please help us be kind of our eyes and ears out there for this behavior,” Marick said.
Winger said police drones can follow unsafe e-bike riders home.
“Some of the parents just had no idea what’s going on, so they really appreciated the phone contact,” Winger said.
Marick said speed is the main issue.
“I would prefer that we look at speed limits before we move to just banning an entire type of bike,” Marick said.
Marick said banning e-bikes outright isn’t the answer, pointing to Councilmember Blair Stewart as an example of responsible riding.
“I’m sure he’s not zipping too fast down the tracks if he’s on his e-bike, so I’d hate to ban those who are using this technology correctly just because we know there are bad operators,” Marick said.
Brea’s e-bike ordinance holds parents or guardians responsible to pay fines if the violator is a minor under their care.
Winger added that officers inform parents that they will be held criminally liable if they continue to allow their child to ride a device that is not compliant with regulations.
However, both parents or legal guardians and the minor may be allowed to complete a police department diversion safety program at their expense instead of paying a fine if available and the officer allows them to do so.
Councilmember Stewart said it’s better to hit people’s wallets.
“I’d prefer it to hurt in the pocket than to actually be hurt.”
Lauren Contreras is a Voice of OC intern. You can reach her at laurencontreras615@gmail.com.
