STONEHAM, Mass. — Now that it’s spring, more and more kids are out riding their E-bikes, and police worry that too many of them are doing so illegally.
“These are kids that are 13, 14 years old that shouldn’t be driving them unsupervised out on public ways in the streets, and we’re just concerned it’s becoming an epidemic across the state,” said Lt. David Thistle, with the Stoneham Police Department.
That’s why Stoneham Police hosted an E-bike safety meeting on Thursday to alert parents of the dangers and laws around riding them.
“I think they really don’t realize how fast they can get going and then maybe zigzagging a little bit through traffic, and the results have been devastating,” said Marian Ryan, Middlesex County District Attorney.
The town of Stoneham knows just how devastating these accidents can be after a 13-year-old boy died after crashing his E-bike in November.
“What we’ve unfortunately seen is a lot of people modifying the bikes, so they’re going faster, people riding them without a helmet, and people riding them in places where they really shouldn’t be riding them,” said Ryan.
Right now in Massachusetts, if an E-bike goes faster than 20 miles per hour, the rider needs to be at least 16 with a permit and a license.
There’s also the question of whether a rider and their parents could face charges for causing a serious crash or hitting a pedestrian.
“Is there criminal liability on the part of the parents? That’s not going to be the case,” said Ryan. “The other piece is going to be civil liability, can a person who’s injured sue a family, and that’s going to depend on a lot of different factors.”
The fire department was also at the meeting on Thursday to warn about the dangers of the lithium batteries inside E-bikes.
They say store it in a safe space away from your exit, just in case it catches fire.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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