City of Goleta Officially Proclaims January 15-21 as E-Bike Safety Awareness Week and Releases Video
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GOLETA, CA, January 17, 2024 – It is officially E-Bike Safety Awareness Week in the City of Goleta. Last night, January 16, 2024, the Goleta City Council officially made the proclamation and released an e-bike safety tips video. Watch the video here. The goal of expanding E-Bike Safety Awareness Day, held for the first-time last year, to a weeklong event is to bring an important topic of concern to the forefront, provide education and ultimately prevent accidents and injuries from occuring.
Mayor Paula Perotte presented the proclamation and said, “Electric bicycles are heavier and faster than standard bicycles and, without the proper safety education and training, e-bike riders have a higher risk of becoming severely injured or killed in a crash.”
Accepting the proclamation was Kim Stanley-Zimmerman with MOVE Santa Barbara County. She said, “There are many benefits to driving an e-bike including reducing traffic, parking demand and air pollution. We are thrilled more people are riding e-bikes and excited to share what we know to help the community be safer during E-Bike Safety Awareness Week.”
City of Goleta’s Community Resource Deputy Ehren Rauch, who narrates the e-bike safety awareness video said, “Every day we have interactions that involve e-bikes and we often find that riders are not familiar with the laws that pertain to e-bikes. It’s important that anyone operating an e-bike understand they must follow the same traffic rules as vehicles.”
The State of California has e-bike safety laws in place that regulate who and where each type of e-bike can lawfully be ridden and that riders 17 years of age and under must always wear a helmet. Of course, it is strongly recommended that e-bike riders of all ages wear a helmet.
“Practicing bike safety precautions, especially wearing a helmet, is essential to preventing or minimizing injury, regardless of age,” said Lauren Sutherlin, Trauma Nurse Coordinator at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital. “Given the higher speeds associated with e-bikes, a properly fitting helmet significantly reduces the risk of serious head and brain injuries in the case of a fall or collision.”
According to the California Highway Patrol, there were more than 9,600 bicycle-involved crashes in California in 2022, 225 of which involved an e-bike (an increase over 80 the prior year) and four of which resulted in fatal injuries.
CHP has an on-line safety course available online at https://www.chp.ca.gov/Programs-Services/Services-Information/Bike-and-Ped-Safety.
The City has activities planned throughout the week including helmet and light distributions at Dos Pueblos High School and Goleta Valley Junior High School, and a Community E-Bike Skills Class and Ride on Saturday, January 20th from 1:00 – 3:30 p.m. at GVJH (6100 Stow Canyon Road). Advanced registration is recommended, sign up now at https://movesbcounty.org/events/. To participate, you must be at least 10 years old and bring your own e-bike and wear a helmet.
Partial funding for this event was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.