NewCanaanite.com received the following letter. Send letters to editor@newcanaanite.com.
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Dear Editor:
It’s difficult to imagine that any young teenager would be given a motorcycle or allowed to ride in a car without a seatbelt. And yet, they are being given electric bikes and sent, with developing prefrontal cortexes, into a world of distracted drivers, road rage, and 5,000 lb. projectiles.
For example: during evening rush hour last week, six teenagers, five on e-bikes and one on an e-scooter, rode from New Canaan to Darien and did the following:
- turned left on red through an active intersection at Farm Road and South Avenue in New Canaan;
- evaded police at Mansfield Avenue and Sedgwick Avenue in Darien by racing through a four-way stop with cars on all sides;
- reached speeds of approximately 40 mph by slowing down to block traffic and then quickly accelerating;
- crossed the yellow line in front of oncoming traffic;
- popped wheelies and rode on one wheel near oncoming traffic; and
- caused a traffic jam.
Last year, Connecticut realized a 350% increase in the number of fatalities and injuries involving bikes and e-bikes on state roads, and that metric shows no sign of stopping. The teenage conflux of unstable hormones, peer pressure, and feelings of invincibility mean that any child could be swept up. I feel a deep sense of urgency that something must change before our community inevitably suffers another tragedy.
Connecticut’s 2025 e-bike law is not actually stopping dangerous behavior; neither are tort and criminal laws that impose serious penalties on parents of children who cause accidents.
Together, we can do better, especially because municipalities are allowed to regulate e-bike use. One option is licensing of mandatory bike and scooter safety courses; another is impoundment and civil forfeiture of e-bikes used in violation of law. The creative minds in our community can doubtless brainstorm many more. I think it’s time we do so.
Danielle Edwards