Southern California city wants parents held responsible in e-bike crackdown

A city in Orange County has a plan to hold parents responsible for damages and crimes committed by e-bikers as emails about their bad behavior mount.

The Mayor of San Clemente said the crackdown on e-bikes is necessary because unsafe riders are creating dangerous situations on the streets.

“It’s just that the volume of emails I get on that issue … they’re increasing,” Mayor Victor Cabral said during a City Council meeting on Tuesday.

Incidents like the recent vandalism by suspected e-bikers at the Great Park in Irvine and a firework being thrown into a Hermosa Beach crowd have councilmembers looking for new ways to stop the growing problem.

“The issue I hear most about, and I think I hear about it every day, is … gangs, they call them, of rogue bikers going down the street next to cars, doing wheelies down Pico and not obeying the traffic signs,” Cabral said.

A new ordinance still in its early stages would give sheriff’s deputies more tools to go after the violators and hold parents responsible.

“I’m just suggesting that the parents, whatever offense the child is involved in … that the parents are responsible for that,” one speaker said during the council meeting.

The ordinance is expected to come up for a final reading in the near future.

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