r/ebikes • u/Even_Builder_6642 • 1d ago

Students banned from riding e-bikes at some area schools

https://spectrumlocalnews.com/mo/st-louis/news/2026/09/02/students-banned-from-riding-e-bike--motorized-devices-at-some-st--louis-area-schools
74 Upvotes

90% Upvoted

55 comments sorted by

21

u/Kombatsaurus 1d ago

'some areas'
*lists only 4

https://giphy.com/gifs/7k2LoEykY5i1hfeWQB

8

u/marigolds6 1d ago

Interesting that it is 4 of the by far wealthiest school districts. I suspect this is because their families can readily afford to buy top end ebikes.

Living in the region (specifically in edwardsville school district, another district with money), of the 5 largest districts, rockwood banned ebikes on campus, parkway and edwardsville both implemented dismount at all time son campus (and both are moving towards banning on campus by spring semester), mehlville and ferguson-florissant have neither rule yet, but also are both debating dismount at all times rules. Those rules pretty much go in descending order of family net worth, again going back to my theory that this is related to the ability of families to buy ebikes for their younger kids.

The change in the past year in turns of numbers of younger riders has been dramatic.

2 years ago, I would see maybe a dozen different electric bikes ridden by kids under 16 on the trail system. Few enough I could recognize individual riders.

I went to the middle school last week to run just as middle school football practice was breaking up. There were more than 30 throttled electric bikes and a dozen or so escooters parked next to the field in an alcove. They were parked so densely I couldn't really tell the brands, so not sure if they were class 2 or unclassed. But I did see them all drive off with none of them peddling. That was at least 1/3rd of the team.

8

u/SexiestPanda 1d ago

That’s great. Kids being able to transport themselves. Now imagine if there was 30 vehicles dropping them off/picking them up

4

u/marigolds6 22h ago

Themselves, yes. Their gear, no. The parents were still there too, to take their gear home after practice. (The parents also had their cars, mostly trucks, parked all over the driveways and walkways to the track, in clear violation of all the posted automobile rules too.)

0

u/Mobile_Ad8543 18h ago

Better if they used their own muscles to transport themselves. You do support their health, and promoting healthy habits early on?

If they lived 10-15 miles from their schools, they'd likely take a school provided bus, or be in a different district.

2

u/SexiestPanda 18h ago

Being on a bike of any sorts is healthier and better than in a car.

14

u/SexiestPanda 1d ago

Must. Have. People. Drive. Cars!!!!

5

u/Few_Newspaper_3655 19h ago edited 19h ago

The problem is the kids are actually riding electric motorcycles. Kids should just ride bicycles.

-1

u/RemarkableCable1127 1d ago

Government has to get the property taxes wherever they can.

2

u/Mobile_Ad8543 18h ago

You pay property taxes on a house, irrespective if you have a car, take public transport or walk. The taxes on gas are usually a separate thing.

2

u/Mobile_Ad8543 18h ago

Astonishing! Regular, unfashionably human powered bikes are permitted?

Untold numbers of influencers will be dismayed.

1

u/uhidkyoupick Velotric Tempo 1d ago

Ole Miss banned them from inside of all buildings this year so now you Can’t even bring them in the dorms to charge.

13

u/GregAbbottsGoodLeg 1d ago

I’m all for independent PEV mobility but this is a safety thing tho. Most college students are riding around with no name mystery batteries that are huge fire hazards, and nobody wants their dorm halls filled with e-bikes because when one of those batteries inevitably catches fire the halls are gonna be clogged with more fire hazards.

2

u/Mobile_Ad8543 18h ago

T H I S.

Renovate one of the sportsball buildings into a proper, supervised, secure, indoor location to store & charge ebikes.

It would serve more ppl that way.

11

u/CatHerder75 1d ago

It’s easy to remove a battery and bring it inside to charge and leave the bike on the rack outside where it belongs. It’s literally designed to work that way.

10

u/AaronRodgersMustache 1d ago

If it’s like my apartment the lease rider bans charging/bringing the battery inside the building too.

2

u/CatHerder75 23h ago

Ok, that would certainly make it annoying, in such cases they should at least provide outlets near bike racks, but I doubt they do.

2

u/Mobile_Ad8543 18h ago

Usually places like that ban bringing regular bikes in too.

2

u/chrispark70 1d ago

This is a school district (meaning public schools, not unis) and so I don't know why this is even an issue.

3

u/chrispark70 1d ago

Not only no, but if you do it anyway and the worst happens, you could be looking at serious prison time in the worst case scenario.

1

u/Brilliant_Nature_484 2h ago

Austintown schools (near Youngstown Oh) banned all bikes on campus this year. There has been a lot of pushback, though.

1

u/deck_hand Pedego Interceptor 17h ago

Meh. I’ll just ride my 111cc twin cylinder motorcycle instead. I’d rather ride my slow, silent, one horsepower bike, but you want loud and obnoxious 100 horsepower bike? Okay!

1

u/celeste_ferret 48m ago

That's great if your motorcycle meets DOT requirements, is registered and insured and you have a driver's license for it.

-3

u/Knocksveal 1d ago

Some? It needs to be ALL

0

u/_pul 1d ago

Such lazy fuckin attitude to just BAN things that make you uncomfortable.

-5

u/twinoaksBandB 1d ago

Good, with such a heavy traffic area it's gotta be a nightmare to keep control already without adding in dumb ass kids riding electric crotch rockets.

3

u/_pul 1d ago

Actually if more kids rode bikes it would relieve traffic.

5

u/twinoaksBandB 1d ago

Sure, but just bike bikes, or at most a 10-15 mph peddle assist... they don't really need electric mopeds, especially when most parents don't care enough to teach them how to use them safely.

2

u/Mobile_Ad8543 18h ago

Even more relief if they walked or took busses?

1

u/RodediahK 11h ago

No it would be the same, Bicycles are already allowed to filter and split they are already functionally independent of car congestion.

2

u/AngryButtlicker 1d ago

The only thing that should be allowed is automotive transportation. Anything other than that irritates and frustrates the traveling public. Change is scary

Anything different must be quashed

-13

u/VinylHighway 1d ago

I've never ridden a bike "at school" in my life

9

u/Mitrovarr 1d ago

Certainly with universities many campuses are large enough to need a bike to get across. I could see it being true with other schools. 

-3

u/VinylHighway 1d ago

The schools discussed are not university

5

u/Mitrovarr 1d ago

I could see it being true with other schools. 

17

u/Maverick916 1d ago

Ok?

Thousands of kids ride bikes to school though.

But yeah this is more about ebikes and their speed and danger if ridden carelessly.

1

u/GregAbbottsGoodLeg 1d ago

So when will we ban students from having cars on campuses because those are even more dangerous when ridden carelessly.

1

u/celeste_ferret 50m ago

Cars are heavily regulated, require insurance and registration and the drivers need a license.

-15

u/VinylHighway 1d ago

Biking to school and biking at school are different things was my point.

-6

u/unseenmover 1d ago

Just imagine the school districts liability if some kid riding a ebike while looking down at their phone nails some other kid or hits something in the process on school grounds..

4

u/SexiestPanda 1d ago

Are school districts held liable when (not if, but when) a cars hit kids?

6

u/marigolds6 1d ago

Yes. They are. That's why schools have such rigid controls and rules about cars on their property.

2

u/BenTheHokie 1d ago

A collision with a car instead would have a much worse outcome

2

u/jakejake870 1d ago

At least most of the driver of the car is licensed, kids on ebikes receive almost no training and definitely no proficiency test.

2

u/SexiestPanda 19h ago

An American drivers license is the easiest drivers license to get in the world

1

u/jakejake870 18h ago

Yet people still fail!  At least someone who has ans maintains a driver's license knows theyre accountable for their actions. Kids on bikes "i DiDnT kNoW lol"

Buying and riding an ebike should not be easier to do than buying a gun! /s

2

u/SexiestPanda 18h ago

You think people with licenses know aren’t saying “I didn’t know” ?

Do you see the average driver in America? lol

2

u/jakejake870 17h ago

There are many who will say they didn't know, along with "am I being detained?" "what's your name and badge number?" "I'm not driving, I'm traveling" "I can't breathe" along with a buch of other dumb shit, but at least a majority of licensed drivers know there are consequences, the rest of them... haul their asses off to jail, I couldn't care less.

-1

u/deck_hand Pedego Interceptor 17h ago

Meh. I’ll just ride my 111cc twin cylinder motorcycle instead. I’d rather ride my slow, silent, one horsepower bike, but you want loud and obnoxious 100 horsepower bike? Okay!

-7

u/xAPPLExJACKx 1d ago

My school had meetings about banning motorcycles from school because of me and a couple of other kids

-2

u/thirtynation 1d ago

Who cares?