Want to be featured in a future Turtle Talk issue? Reply to this email with a photo of you on a low-speed vehicle and tell us what you're doing to "right-size your ride."

Welcome Back

We're excited to present our seventh issue of "Turtle Talk," a monthly e-blast with the latest updates and news-you-can-use about the South Bay Local Travel Network (LTN), produced by the South Bay Cities Council of Governments (SBCCOG).

Here's a little reminder: the LTN is planned to be a 243-mile network of existing, low-speed routes that are designed to accommodate travel via small, low-speed vehicles (aka street-worthy golf carts, e-bikes, pedal bikes, e-scooters, etc.). While the LTN includes all types of low-speed vehicles, this edition of Turtle Talk focuses on e-bikes.  

To reread this content in the future, visit our website. Be sure to follow our social media campaigns on Instagram, Facebook, X and LinkedIn.  

E-Bike Sticker Programs Gain Popularity

The SBCCOG, in collaboration with its cities, is currently exploring ways to address youth e-bike safety with a multi-jurisdictional approach. It's exploring funding opportunities for facilitating a subregional e-bike sticker program to proactively address e-bike safety and the growing use of e-bikes.

A school e-bike sticker program is a permitting structure that requires school-age students to complete safety training to earn a sticker to be affixed to their vehicles. The sticker authorizes students to ride an electric vehicle to school and park on campus.

Due to growing community concerns about e-bike safety and a lack of traffic law knowledge among juvenile e-bike riders, several school districts across Southern California have begun to implement e-bike sticker or registration programs.

The Carlsbad and Irvine Unified School Districts operate sticker programs that require K-12 students to attend a safety presentation hosted by their respective police departments before registering their e-vehicle.

In the South Bay, select schools in Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach and El Segundo will operate sticker programs over the next school year and will receive training from specialized e-bike safety training courses such as E-Bike Sense and Pedal Ace.

In California, cyclists are subject to the same rules and responsibilities as motorists. This means that they must make a complete stop at all stop signs and check for oncoming traffic before proceeding through the intersection. Some cyclists choose to place a foot down to signal to others that they have stopped.

A New Approach to Consider

A “Stop-as-Yield" or ”Bicycle Safety Stop” bill has been introduced to the California Legislature multiple times to allow adult cyclists to treat stop signs as yield signs. This approach has been credited with reducing traffic collisions involving bicycles by allowing cyclists to conserve momentum and reduce the amount of time spent in intersections. However, Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed the bill in 2021 after it passed through the State Assembly and Senate. 

Are you a new e-bike rider? Keep these safety tips in mind: 

🚲If you are first starting out, start in the lightest assist mode, then shift up in mode as you become more comfortable. Practice shifting gears. Use an easier gear for riding uphill, and shift to a harder gear when riding downhill. 

🚵E-bikes are heavier than traditional bikes, so they require more braking power and may take more time to stop. Shift into an easier gear before stopping for an easier start-up again.

For more resources on e-bike safety, visit ebikesmart.org.

Tiny But Mighty

The JackRabbit micro e-bike is a tiny machine made for very short trips and maximal portability. At just 24 pounds and with a frame that folds down to 7 inches wide, the device can fit just about anywhere. It's even Federal Aviation Administration-compliant for airline travel.

The JackRabbit doesn’t have pedals, nor does it match the range of larger e-bikes, but it offers a convenient, $1,000-dollar solution to travel a short distance, such as commuting across a college campus.

New micromobility innovations and technologies are constantly emerging from around the world. We want to showcase some of these exciting vehicle inventions in the industry. Perhaps you’ll spot one of these devices cruising around the South Bay in the near future.

Ever wonder how our legislators plan to address issues surrounding low-speed vehicles, mobility and traffic safety? In this new Legislative Tracker feature, we will spotlight a local, state or federal piece of legislation pertaining to low-speed travel in a quick, easy-to-understand explanation.

California Senate Bill 1271, authored by Senator Dave Min, is a twofold bill that addresses e-bike and electric mobility devices. The bill would prohibit a person from selling or leasing a device unless the battery has been tested by an accredited testing lab for safety standard compliance. This would remove low quality batteries that are at high risk for fires from the market. The bill would also clarify that the motors of Class 1 and Class 3 e-bikes cannot be capable of exclusively propelling the bicycle. This would prevent manufacturers from labeling devices that can switch between Class 2 and Class 3 modes as e-bikes.

Did someone forward you this email? Sign up to receive future emails from us.