GROSSE POINTE (WWJ) The Grosse Pointe Farms Department of Public Safety is issuing a warning about E-motos due to reckless driving, property damage and safety complaints.
E-motos are electric motorcycles disguised or marketed as E-bikes.
Authorities are especially warning parents to make sure their child or teen is not driving an E-moto. This can be determined by the vehicle's classification, its motor's power level, its maximum speed and whether it has fully operable pedals.
Parents who knowingly allow their child to operate an E-moto may be charged with a civil infraction and a civil fine of up to $100. The vehicle may also be impounded.
Michigan law requires a proper driver's license to drive to a motor vehicle, including an E-moto, on a road or highway.
Grossse Pointe Farms Department of Public Safety said complaints against the E-motos also include the vehicles riding around and damaging golf courses, and drivers failing to stop when commanded by police.
As of now, they said this warning only applies to E-motos, as the city works on a separate ordinance for E-bikes.
Authorities said, just because a retailer or manufacturer sells it as an E-bike, does not mean it is one.
Their warning comes as controversy, serious injuries and deaths connected to E-bikes continue to make headlines around Southeastern Michigan. Berkley voted earlier this week to ban E-bikes and other modes of transportation on city sidewalks in its downtown area.
Earlier this month, two teens sustained injuries in Redford after police said a car struck them on their E-bike. Authorities said a 14-year-old on an E-bike also died last week after being struck by a car on the way to school, east of Flint.
E-motos are electric motorcycles disguised or marketed as E-bikes.
E-motos are electric motorcycles disguised or marketed as E-bikes.
