E-Bike, E-Scooter & E-Motorcycle Enforcement Continues Throughout the Summer
Today, Petaluma Police officers conducted another traffic enforcement operation focused on electric bicycles, electric scooters, and electric motorcycles. During the operation, officers made 35 enforcement stops and issued 28 citations for violations.
While many people assume e-bikes are the biggest concern, the majority of the issues we encounter in Petaluma involve electric motorcycles (e-motos), not traditional e-bikes. We receive calls from community members almost every day reporting unsafe riding behaviors, particularly involving e-motorcycles and electric scooters. Those concerns come from pedestrians, drivers, and neighbors who are worried about safety.
The most common violations we continue to see include:
🪖 Riders not wearing required helmets.
🚫 Riding bicycles on sidewalks within Petaluma's Central Business District (Downtown), where it's prohibited.
🚫 Riding electric scooters on sidewalks.
❌ Operating electric motorcycles on public streets, sidewalks, bike paths, and trails where they are not street legal. E-motorcycles can only be ridden on private property.
Enforcement efforts will continue daily throughout the summer, and officers will continue educating riders while taking enforcement action when necessary. Parents, please make sure your kids are riding safely and following the law. In many incidents, it’s parents who will be held liable.
We want to be clear: we’re not trying to ruin summer or stop kids from being kids. The main goal in public safety is to keep people safe, but it’s on all of us to make smart decisions. We want everyone to enjoy being outside and to enjoy checking out all that Petaluma has to offer, we just want you to be safe about it too. These vehicles can be dangerous and we’ve already seen several serious collisions in our area. It shouldn’t take a tragedy to make the right decisions.
