TALLAHASSEE --- Florida lawmakers moved ahead Thursday with a proposal to get cyclists on e-bikes to slow down around pedestrians and make other safety improvements, although many suggested the effort should cover people using electric scooters as well.
The Florida Senate Committee on Fiscal Policy voted 15-0 to advance the proposal, amid concerns that the increasingly popular devices pose a safety threat to cyclists, pedestrians and drivers.
The proposal, SB 382, would require cyclists on e-bikes to slow down to under 10 mph on a sidewalk or shared path if a pedestrian is within 50 feet of their bike. It would mandate that the Florida Highway Patrol, sheriff鈥檚 offices and local police departments maintain records of all crashes involving e-bikes. And it would create a task force of police and local officials 鈥� but not necessarily cycling advocates 鈥� to come up with more recommendations for legislators to consider.
鈥淛ust from personal experience, it seems to me that every day the line between pedestrian and motorized traveler seems to get blurred to the point where we don鈥檛 know where they should be. Should they be on sidewalks or a special bike lane or should they be governed like golf carts?鈥� said state Sen. Tom Leek, a Republican from Ormond Beach.
The bill, he explained, 鈥減uts forth that the state should be looking at this from a holistic approach to make sure we have the appropriate regulations.鈥�
Florida had 234 cyclist deaths in 2023, by far the most of any state, according to the Bicycle Accident Lawyers Group. California and Texas, which both have larger populations than Florida, had 145 and 106, respectively.
E-bikes come in many different varieties. The least powerful of them only provide electric assistance when the cyclist is pedaling and don鈥檛 offer propulsion when the bicycle reaches 20 mph. Others don鈥檛 require the cyclist to pedal and can reach speeds of up to 28 mph.
PeopleForBikes, a trade association for the U.S. cyclist industry, cautions that many devices that people off-handedly call 鈥渆-bikes鈥� are more appropriately called 鈥渆-motos.鈥� Those electric mopeds, motorcycles and dirt bikes are much more powerful and can reach speeds of up to 65 mph, and, unlike e-bikes, can fall under state and federal rules for motor vehicles.
At the Senate committee hearing, Michelle Lynch of Tampa urged lawmakers to include electronic scooters in the legislation, too.
Lynch is the mother of Connor Lynch, a 19-year-old sophomore at the University of South Florida who was killed in 2024 while riding a scooter near campus.
鈥淗e was riding back to his apartment when a car struck and killed him. The car turned left in front of him and Connor did not have time to stop. Unfortunately, the chest trauma he endured from the handlebars was too much for him to survive,鈥� Lynch told senators.
鈥淎fterwards, I learned something that shocked me beyond measure. The driver who hit Connor was not cited with an improper left turn (into) oncoming traffic,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hen I asked the investigating officer why, he said Connor wasn鈥檛 where he was supposed to be. He wasn鈥檛 supposed to be in the bike lane. He wasn鈥檛 supposed to be in the sidewalk.鈥�
But when Lynch asked where her son was supposed to be, she says she was 鈥渕et with uncertainty.鈥�
She said Connor鈥檚 death showed why the state needs clearer rules on the use of electric scooters, along with e-bikes. Electric scooters, she said, can go 65 mph or even faster.
鈥淭hese vehicles are already in our bike lanes, they are on our sidewalks, they are in our neighborhoods, they are on our college campuses,鈥� she said. We really need to have clear rules of the road for riders and the families who purchase these for their children.鈥�
Other lawmakers backed the idea that the e-bike bill should also cover electric scooters.
鈥淚n cities large and small across Florida, we see a proliferation of e-transportation. It can be bikes or scooters. I personally have grave concerns about the safety of individuals riding those and, quite frankly, am nervous when I see them close to me and I鈥檓 driving my car,鈥� said Sen. Colleen Burton, a Republican from Lakeland. 鈥淭he safety of the operators should be foremost in our minds.鈥�
鈥淲e could do more. I don鈥檛 want to prohibit them, but we could do more to have more safety information and potential safety regulation around all these e-vehicles,鈥� Burton said.
