E-Bike Collision Too Close for Comfort

Just this week, I thought that I was going to be the first e-bike/vehicle collision in Bonita. I do not want that dubious distinction.

I was headed east on San Miguel Road just past the intersection of Conduit Road and Loma del Sol Drive in my F-150 truck.

I watched the group of six e-bikers coming down the road headed west. The front biker was doing all sort of gymnastics as he was performing a wheelie. I have seen him before performing his tricks. The others were following, some laughing and shaking their heads at his antics.

Just a few feet before we met going opposite directions, he crossed the yellow line and entered my lane, still doing his wheelie.

My choices were do a screeching stop (where he would have still run into my truck) or avoid him by running into a neighborhood fence, car or home. The road is quite narrow and had there been a walker or horse rider, they too would have been involved in the accident.

Luckily, he corrected back into his lane just seconds before impact. Had I been doing the 25MPH speed limit, he may not have had time. Wearing no protection except a helmet, he could have gotten severely messed up.

This is getting a little too personal for me.

Last week, the La Mesa City Council banned e-bikes for children under 12. Chula Vista's enforcement began in December of 2025. San Diego has regulations. Just about all cities has some type of rules. But this is not true for the unincorporated areas.

If I had a say in creating e-bike rules for Bonita, this is what I would suggest:

1. Have everyone riding e-bikes take the free Scripps Health Injury Prevention Course. This teaches all the basics plus some cool stuff, too. Ask Scripps if they could issue a certificate for completing the course.

2. The e-bike operator would then take that certificate to the Sheriff's Department where they would be registered and issued a license plate for the back of their bike. This connects every bike to an owner and would provide information such as name, parents' name(s), home address, email address and phone number (known only to the Sheriff's Department). Instead of Sheriffs and Park Rangers trying to pursue kids when they are causing havoc and possibly causing an accident in the chase, they just get a picture of the e-bike plate and would then know who the kiddo is.

3. The first incident receives a warning and notification to the parent (and is logged).

4. The second time, they receive a citation with a fine (and that gets logged). Fines have to be paid in person with both the bike rider and a parent going into the Sheriff's Department together.

5. Strike three and the e-bike is impounded (and the incident is logged). Parents can retrieve the bike after taking a parent safety course of some type. Maybe one with Rady Hospital statistics and some of those good old Driver Ed videos that we used to watch in High School, only these would be about e-bikes.

The Sheriff's Department is stretched and may not want to take on this task.

Maybe this could be under the "jurisdiction" of the San Diego County Traffic Advisory Committee (TAC). E-bikes are vehicles and fall under the category of traffic so this might be a good fit. The TAC could run this however they see fit.

If the TAC doesn't want to take it on, maybe a Community E-Bike Advisory Committee of some type.

Whoever does decide to take this on could possibly host a yearly or biannual Bike Rodeo for all e-bikers who have two strikes or less in that time period. That might be motivation for some of these kids to follow the laws of the road better so that they could participate in the Rodeo. And they could perform their tricks for an audience and get some recognition for their talent.

These are just some of my ideas and I'm sure a few of you out there have your own ideas.

These e-bikers are not bad kids. They are just kids being kids and having a good time. We simply wish to insure that they are not injured while pursuing their recreation.

A kiddo only knows what they are taught. If kids and adults alike could be educated on this subject matter, maybe we could avoid any unforeseeable accidents in the future.

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