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Two recent e-bike crashes, with injuries, within the otherwise quiet community of Rossmoor have caused alarm among directors as they asked the California Highway Patrol for assistance.
During the March meeting of the Rossmoor Community Services District, Officer Zeferino Valdovinos of the CHP confirmed that they have investigated two electric bike crashes, with injuries within the community.
Valdovinos did not expain the incidents but said they were a cause for concern.
Based on two recent crashes, Valdovinos told Director Michael Maynard it appear the ebike situation was “on the uptick,” based on the two crashes.
“These are my first two e-bike collisions that we’ve had in a while,” he said.
The discussion began when Maynard wanted to know which law enforcement agency was responsible for e-bike enforcement in Rossmoor.
Maynard said he wanted to know because, “I hate to say it, but I’m seeing more and more daredevil-like activities on bikes.
“They’re actually kind of becoming a menace here and there,” the director said.
“I’m hearing stories, including one story where (kids on e-bikes) literally blocked the whole street just to mess with people lining up before they took off and went to school,” he said.
“I was tempted to follow them to school and talk to them,” said Maynard. “But ultimately, whose responsibility is it,” he asked?
The answer, said Valdovinos, is complicated. If incidents occur on the highway, the CHP is responsible. However, for incidents on the sidewalks or other places non highway, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office was responsible.
Valdovinos explained that if they were blocking roadways, that would be the responsibility of CHP but he said e-bikes are becoming a problem across many communities everywhere.
“It is a parent-child issue,” he said, suggesting at the end of the day, it is the responsibility of parents to train their children how to properly utilize electric bikes.
“We have to educate the parents so they can educate the children,” he said, explaining there is a training tool available on the CHP website.
“It’s good for parents and kids alike,” he added.
Director Jo Shade said she has both witnessed a sharp rise in social media mentions about e-bike problems and as well heard friends and neighborhoods in Rossmoor speaking about it.
“We have a group of youngsters here in Rossmoor that are going around, kicking the doors and leaving big prints on glass doors.
“My husband put up a security system at the house because they left a big print on our door. Then they run, get on their e-bikes and its very antagonizing,” she said.
“They went to several houses on our street and I see it happening all over Rossmoor,” she said.
Shade suggested she was “freaked out” by an aggressive e-bike rider doing a wheelie “coming right at me. He didn’t veer off,” she said. “Can I report this kind of stuff to you guys,” she asked.
“You can email us,” said Valdovinos. The CHP representative said he would look into the reports to see what time these events generally happen and then ask CHP patrol officers to perhaps be in Rossmoor during those times (when possible).
Director Tony Demarco then asked Valdovinos about the general schedule of CHP’s patrols in Rossmoor to let residents know when they patrol inside the community.
Since Rossmoor is an unincorporated area, the community must rely on the CHP and the OC Sheriff’s Office for law enforcement duties.
He said CHP will always patrol when there are complaints or concerns and explained loosely how the agency mixes Rossmoor into its regular patrol schedule.
