West Kelowna cops crack down on unruly electric dirt bike riders
Running red lights, surprise entries onto roadways and tearing up parks and paths. Those are just a few of the behaviours West Kelowna RCMP are trying to curb as they track unruly electric dirt bike riders this summer.
The detachment has heard complaints about the riders from the community and from city hall. In the past few weeks they've been stopping riders and tracking the ones who get away, according to Cpl. Tyrone Wilton.
So far, they've spoken with nearly two dozen riders, mostly kids, and issued just two tickets for "repeat offenders."
Wilton heads the West Kelowna traffic section, which partnered with officers from Kelowna and the BC Highway Patrol to focus specifically on the growing issue of throttle-powered electric dirt bikes.
Complaints on West Kelowna social media groups can be found frequently with users claiming to have seen them surprising drivers by bursting onto roadways day and night, riding through parks and fleeing police.
"They don't treat them like a motor vehicle or a bicycle. Unfortunately, they do some very dangerous actions," Wilton said.
Since the end of the school year, the number of electric dirt bikes in the area has grown, but West Kelowna isn't alone. North Vancouver RCMP announced a crackdown on their use earlier this year and so did Kelowna RCMP across the lake.
In Kamloops they're often ridden in the city-owned Bike Ranch. In the nearby Juniper Ridge neighbourhood a youth was left seriously injured last year after a head-on collision with a truck. On the new rail trail connection to Peachland, too, both electric and gas-powered dirt bikes have been reported.
"They are powerful and they can really hurt somebody — frankly, probably kill somebody — if they hit them the right way," Trails of the Okanagan Society president Janice Liebe said.
According to Liebe, riders are seen using them from the lakeside trail to neighbourhoods like Glenrosa and Shannon Lake.
"I think it's an important issue to talk about because it's just basic safety," Liebe said. "And I don't want the trail churned up because they do a lot of damage and spit up gravel."
Cpl. Wilton said three recent enforcement efforts led to fewer bikes on the road illegally and fewer complaints. While the 23 riders they have spoken with have been "receptive" to police, there is a small group of riders who keep breaking the rules. Wilton said police are tracking and identifying them, aiming to avoid a dangerous chase.
None have been seized or impounded so far, but the riders who risk that through stunting and dangerous riding have so far managed to get away from police.
"Unfortunately, it's usually a small group that ruins it for everyone else, but what they're doing is putting themselves at risk and members of the general public," he said.
An estimated six to 10 young riders are known to be in the Shannon Lake area, but police don't stick to one place because the riders don't either. Once they're aware of a police presence, Cpl. Wilton said they'll move somewhere else.
Surron is the most popular among the growing electric dirt bike industry. Its smallest model is marketed as part dirt bike, part mountain bike, capable of reaching speeds up to 75 km/h.
Although BC has rules for pedal-assisted e-bikes, motorcycles like Surron's cannot be insured even as off-road vehicles.
According to Cpl. Wilton, owners in both cases are often unaware of the rules. Dealerships in West Kelowna selling motorcycles will advise buyers of the rules and where they can be ridden, while police are connecting with schools to educate students who ride them.
Riders who are caught risk hundreds of dollars in fines for riding on the road without a license, helmet or insurance, for example. They could also face criminal charges for dangerous operation or flight from police, along with civil liabilities in some cases due to the lack of insurance.
The province regulates pedalled e-bikes separately and can broadly be separated by age limits.
Between ages 14 and 16, riders are allowed motors that put out 250 watts and assist with speeds up to 25 km/h. From ages 16 and up, the province allows motors up to 500 watts and assist with speeds up to 32 km/h. Only the latter group is allowed throttles on their bikes.
"What we're seeing is with many of these bikes, people purchase them on Amazon for their children and they're 1,500 watts," Cpl. Wilton said.
Manufacturers selling those pedalled-assisted e-bikes advertise speeds up to 50 km/h.
As police in West Kelowna continue to track the riders and collect evidence on those riding more dangerously, considered repeat offenders, Cpl. Wilton said the bulk of their effort will remain focused on educating those who may not know the laws around electric-powered bikes.
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