The average e-bikes can travel up to 28 mph. However, drivers may have little or none of the training required to drive vehicles that can obtain that speed. Young e-bike riders suffer traumatic brain injuries at nearly twice the rate of traditional cyclists, and fewer than half of hospitalized riders wore helmets. To address this, California has passed a law that chooses prevention over punishment, seemingly similar to the law requiring that teenagers take Driver’s Education classes.
On August 27, 2026, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1569, directing the California Department of Education, with the California Highway Patrol, to build a standardized e-bike safety and training program for students in grades 7 through 12 by March 2028. Sponsored by Assemblymembers Laurie Davies and Phillip Chen, the Pupil safety: electric bicycle: safety and training program bill unanimously passed the Assembly 77–0.
California’s attempt to address the risks of e-bikes, brain injury and otherwise, through the classroom, contrasts the approach of eleven other states that currently require licenses for their operation: Alabama, Alaska, Connecticut, Hawaii, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Missouri, West Virginia, New Mexico, North Dakota, and New Jersey, the strictest. It will be interesting to compare the efficacy of these approaches and to see if some sort of a combination of law and education is needed.
