Scoop: San Diego e-bike crashes surge
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A teenage boy rides an e-bike along the San Diego coastline. Photo: Kevin Carter/Getty Images
E-bike collisions across San Diego have nearly quadrupled over the past five years, police data obtained exclusively by Axios shows.
Why it matters: E-bike injuries are skyrocketing and becoming more severe, particularly for kids, as they hit speeds faster than regular bikes.
- The dangers e-bikes can pose to kids were grimly apparent this weekend when a 12-year-old boy suffered life-threatening injuries after colliding with a car in Carmel Valley.
By the numbers: E-bike collisions climbed from at least 23 in 2021 to at least 84 in 2025, according to an Axios analysis of SDPD data obtained through a public records request. The data did not indicate the ages of those involved.
- The Pacific Beach and Mission Beach neighborhoods are hot spots, accounting for about 13% of those incidents over five years, ZIP code data shows.
- Miscellaneous hazardous violations, unsafe speed and unsafe turns, or no turn signal made up more than half of the violations.
The big picture: E-bikes are surging in popularity across San Diego County, especially in coastal neighborhoods and cities.
- They're a fun, efficient way to get around, but they can reach speeds up to 28mph and are putting more kids on roads among car traffic.
- There's currently a patchwork of laws and policies across San Diego County restricting their use, including age and passenger limits, e-bike confiscation and sidewalk bans.
- La Mesa, Carlsbad, Oceanside, San Marcos, Poway, Imperial Beach and Encinitas recently adopted new e-bike rules limiting their use for kids.
"So many parents haven't realized how dangerous e-bikes are," San Diego Councilmember Raul Campillo told Axios. "Kids hit a pothole, they run into a car, they hit a broken piece of a sidewalk, and they have severely broken bones — as opposed to a kid who's going, you know, 8 to 9 miles an hour on a pedal bike, goes over the handlebars, gets road rash and scraped up."
- "It's a whole different level of injury and trauma," he said.
Driving the news: San Diego City Council is considering stricter regulations on e-bikes because of safety concerns.
- A pilot program would ban kids under 12 from riding e-bikes and would allow passengers only if there's a second seat.
- Violators would face a $25 ticket, and kids would have 120 days to take an e-bike course to get the ticket waived.
- Council will likely discuss the pilot program in June or July after the city budget is set, Campillo said, and the rules would take effect next school year. The program is possible via a state law that went into effect last year allowing local governments to regulate e-bike usage.
"We're really looking at this as a public safety situation," Campillo said. "[Local residents] see a lot of young people going very fast without helmets, recklessly through the streets."
- The goal, he said, is to "reduce the injuries caused to the young riders and the people they might accidentally run into."
Yes, but: Some local transportation advocates say these new rules target the wrong kinds of e-bikes, and city leaders should restrict more powerful types that resemble motorcycles.
What we're watching: California lawmakers are considering three bills aimed at regulating e-bikes, including requiring DMV registration and limiting how e-bikes are sold and marketed.
Are you a parent whose child has an e-bike? What do you think of e-bikes and their growth in popularity? Email [email protected] to share your thoughts.