South Bay police departments are forming a task force to prevent people from riding electronic bicycles and motorcycles recklessly.
Hermosa Beach police were among the agencies that launched a crackdown this month after residents filed complaints about the riders riding dangerously fast and harassing some passersby.
Resident Richard Roe is one of the residents who is fed up with the riders.
“If they’re going through at a high rate of speed … I don’t care if they’re 12 or 80, I say, ‘Hey buddy, why don’t you slow down,’” he said.
Roe sometimes stands on The Strand, the beachfront sidewalk in the South Bay, reminding people to slow down. He has had two confrontations with teenage drivers in the past three months.
“He got his back right in my face. He did a wheelie,” Roe recalled happening during one of the confrontations. “He had the steering wheel no more than six inches from my nose. Any little mistake would have hit me.”
Since Hermosa Beach police began their crackdown this month, they have issued 51 tickets to passengers. Last weekend, investigators cited a rider and their parents after they were spotted driving dangerously fast and damaging a city mural. Officers have seized the e-motorcycle, which is becoming increasingly common even though it is illegal to ride it on city streets.
“They fall under the same criteria as motor vehicles,” said Traffic Officer Keaton Dadigan. “Just like you have to register your car with the DMV to get your driver’s license, registration and insurance, the same will be the case with those motorcycles.”
So far this month, police have seized nine e-motorcycles. Dadigan said officers have gone to schools to educate children about safety. He added that they typically issue warnings before issuing citations or seizures.
“We try to write as many warnings as possible, but it comes at a certain point,” he said. “If there is reckless behavior… we will file a report and confiscate bicycles.
Hermosa is also working with the Manhattan Beach and Redondo Beach police to form a task force. While they admit that e-bikes are good for the community, some residents believe that only a small group of teenagers are causing many of the problems.
For Roe, who admits he threatened to kill the teen who harassed him, he blames the parents.
“You have to know what your kids are doing,” he said.
Lesley Marin
