Police urge electric motorcycle riders to stay safe while on the roads
Sep 6, 2024, 6:00 PM
Electric motorcycles have foot pegs and need to be registered as an off-highway vehicle. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
(Scott Olson/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON COUNTY, Utah — The number of people riding e-bikes is growing across the state. But how many of those are actually an electric motorcycle instead of an e-bike?
According to Washington County authorities, there have been multiple reports of teenagers, young adults, and even children as young as 6 or 7 being reckless while riding these vehicles.
Sgt. Jeremy Needles from the St. George Police Department and Lt. Kory Klotz from the Washington City Police Department joined Dave and Dujanovic to discuss their joint effort in tackling this issue to keep the public safe.
In Washington County, it’s not e-bikes but rather electric motorcycles that are causing the major issues. Lt. Klotz said we have to start by differentiating the two vehicles.
“There’s actually some businesses within the state that are selling these motorcycles as e-bikes. What you need to ask yourself is, does my electric vehicle have pedals, or does it have foot pegs?” said Sgt. Needles.
If it has foot pegs, it is an electric motorcycle and needs to be registered as an OHV (off-highway vehicle). Failing to register it can lead to an impoundment.
The goal for both Lt. Klotz and Sgt. Needles is to educate as many riders as they can about the potential dangers of these vehicles.
“Now there’s more people on our roadways. There’s more drivers. There’s more pedestrians out walking with the active lifestyle that we have here in Utah. And so it’s just that knowledge and understanding of what actually these things are, and I think that’s a big point that we need to drive home,” said Lt. Klotz.
