Recap of Last Night's E-Bike Safety Webinar

Last night was the County's "Free E-Bike Safety Webinar: What Every San Diego Family Should Know About E-Bikes". Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer sent out the invite and according to various media sources was expected to participate: Lawson-Remer, Medical Officials to Host E-Bike Webinar on May 12th.

Lawson-Remer was a no-show, nowhere in sight. They said she had sent in a video but they couldn't get the volume to play. I saw 3 seconds of it and the quick view resembled her video on Instagram, though I'm sure the script was different. This Instagram video is an invite to the webinar.

Terra or no Terra, the show must go on. The webinar was run by the following three panelists and they did an excellent job of presenting all their information in exactly one hour.

• Paige Colburn-Hargis—Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla

  
  

• Beth Black—The Bellemont Project (Beth used to have an e-bike shop & is the author of the #1 book on Amazon in three categories. The book is titled "The Caring Parent's E-Bike Survival Guide" (Second edition)

  
  

• Pualani Vazquez—Scripps Mercy Hospital Hillcrest

They took turns sharing information and slides without missing a beat. A male employee from Terra's office began and ended the webinar but I missed his introduction. It might have been Matthew Tillyer as he sent out the link. He did an excellent job.

They began by stating California law: All riders under 18 must wear a helmet when on wheels.

Following are their slides and some information I caught. (Click on slides to enlarge.)

Paige Colburn-Hargis originally got involved when disaster struck in her own family. This photo shows her 14-year-old son after a skateboard accident without a helmet.

Make sure to have the correct helmet for the sport your child is utilizing. You can find more information on helmets.org

Does your insurance cover e-bike exclusions?

The legal landscape has shifted. This can be similar to handing them a loaded weapon. Be aware if they are talking about rideouts, street takeovers or a particular type of bike.

Have your child test drive the e-bike with the motor OFF for 10 minutes. Without the motor, it will be heavy. The pedals don't have a real purpose unless the charge runs out. E-Moto is not a bike to be ridden in town.

The "outlaw" mind set is common. E-Motos are illegal on streets. "City Takeover" is what many cities/towns are currently experiencing.

A "mentor" mindset is better than an "enforcer" mindset. Yelling is counter-productive.

This is panelist Beth Black's book.

Our streets could look different in the future.

At 40MPH, the death rate increases to nearly 50%. Injuries on E-Bikes are more severe than on pedal bikes. Some popular E-Moto dealerships are marketing a 2-wheeler with a throttle for 4-8 year olds. Yikes!

Recommend that parents wait until their child is at least 14 years old to get a motorized bike when they have more skill and dexterity. Start first with a pedal bike.

A follow-up email will be sent in a few days to webinar participants. I'll share any good information that I receive.

Again, this was an excellent webinar and professionally run. Kudos to Paige Colburn-Hargis and Pualani Vazquez of Scripps Health Trauma Prevention Team, Beth Black from the Bellemont Project and Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer for organizing this informative webinar.

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