Huntington Beach introduces police-led e-bike training program

The rise of e-bikes has brought an exciting new way to get around, but not without consequences.

Huntington Beach had 147 reported e-bike crashes in 2024, more than double the amount reported two years prior.

Mayor Pat Burns said he saw another close call just recently.

“I saw several kids blow right through a red light, clueless to how close they came to getting slaughtered by the oncoming cars,” he said. “They’re getting more daring with their wheelies, putting their front wheels up and going fast.”

Huntington Beach Police Chief Eric Parra discusses new alarming new e-bike collision statistics at Spring View Middle School in Huntington Beach on Wednesday.

(James Carbone)

The Huntington Beach Police Department has addressed the issue by instituting a police-led student e-bike safety program.

The free course, which held a session and associated news conference Wednesday morning at Spring View Middle School in Huntington Beach, is intended for youth e-bike riders. The 70-minute sessions are designed to replicate real-world scenarios at increasingly challenging speeds, offering lessons on emergency braking, obstacle navigation, reaction-time awareness and helmet use.

Huntington Beach Police Sgt. Mike Thomas developed the curriculum based on a Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) certified 40-hour training and leads the course, along with his colleagues on the force. It is believed to be the first such police-led training course to be instituted in the state.

Though Surf City is the first to start such a program, 24 police officers from 10 agencies statewide have already completed the POST e-bike safety instructor training.

A group of kids sit on their e-bikes and listen to a Huntington Beach officer discuss the rules of the road at Spring View Middle School on Wednesday.

(James Carbone)

Police Chief Eric Parra said the program is valuable for children as well as parents, who are required to attend the course as well. He said more kids are also running from the police, which can turn a simpler citation into a court case.

In September 2023, the Huntington Beach City Council voted to amend the city’s municipal code to give police more leeway to crack down on dangerous riders.

“You can tell kids how to act and how to behave and how to ride,” Parra said. “But when you show them physically how 20 miles an hour is so much different than 10, then they start to realize, ‘Not only did they tell me, but I see it.’ Then it becomes effective. Experiential learning is the only way to go.”

Amy Frias, Children’s Hospital of Orange County community educator, shared at Wednesday’s news conference that CHOC has seen a huge increase in e-bike related trauma visits since 2019.

Evan Eatmon, 15, of Huntington Beach, right, and Joseph Bona, 13 of Huntington Beach, ride their e-bikes through an obstacle course.

(James Carbone)

Many involve untrained and underage riders, and more than half of them are not wearing a helmet, Frias said.

“E-bike injuries we are looking at are more like severe car crashes,” Frias said. “We’re talking concussions, we’re talking fractures. We had an [orthopedic doctor] that did a big paper on the patella, the top of the knee, that was shattered. These are not things that we normally see in kids, these types of injuries. They’re severe, they take a long time to heal and it’s just very scary.”

Officials said that the Huntington Beach Union High School District is reviewing the program for potential district-wide adoption this fall. If approved, it could become a mandatory requirement for students who ride e-bikes to school.

Cindy Ortega attended Wednesday’s training with her son, Vincent, who is going into the seventh grade at Mesa View Middle School in Huntington Beach. She said she had no idea how dangerous e-bikes were, or how fast they could actually go.

Huntington Beach Police Sgt. Mike Thomas discusses the e-bike safety program at Spring View Middle School on Wednesday.

(James Carbone)

“When you’re going alongside cars, it’s pretty scary,” she said. “If he wants to take [his bike] to school, it’s important that he knows what to be aware of, how to maneuver and stop at the right time.”

Vincent, 11, said he had seen many riders even younger than himself.

“We just need everybody to follow the rules and not try to be all cool, thinking that they can do all of these wheelies in front of cars,” he said.

More e-bike safety events will be scheduled throughout the summer, including three additional public training sessions on Friday back at Spring View. Vendors and partners will provide safety materials, helmet fittings and e-bike raffle giveaways.