Community members, including state Rep. Emerson Levy, held a public forum Thursday to discuss e-bike safety. They discussed creating systems of education, safety and other rider policies as e-bikes become more popular.
Levy says part of the process is defining what an e-bike is.
“And having that information will better inform policy going forward. So this is step one, and there’s going to be lots of steps after this,” Levy said.
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She plans to introduce “Trenton’s Law” during the upcoming legislative session, named for a 15-year-old boy who was killed in a collision while riding an e-bike last summer. That law would reportedly seek to make it so kids under 16 would be prohibited from riding a throttle-assisted e-bike. Pedal-assisted e-bikes would be allowed.
Bike rules in Oregon haven’t been updated since 1997 — the same year the first mass-produced e-bike became available to consumers.
