Personally, I love seeing kids and teens riding all manner of electric dirt bikes. Why? Because the constant rhetoric I hear from my colleagues and peers is that The Youths don't care about motorcycles anymore. They'd rather be doing TikTok dances or playing video games or all manner of other activities apart from riding.
It is, as I'd put it, horseshit though.
In my little hamlet alone, the vast majority of kids getting around our city are riding something like a Sur-Ron, a Talaria, or in the very near future, Zero's EV dirt bikes. They're everywhere. In fact, at my daughter's lacrosse practice last night, I saw no fewer than 10 EV dirt bikes streak by the field throughout the hour and a half we were there.
Yet, there is a problem with these youth-oriented motorcycles, and that's that local laws haven't quite kept up with technology. And they're now causing somewhat of a headache with both law enforcement and communities as they attempt to police these killer machines, as is the case with a town near my house in Draper, Utah.
According to our local KSL outlet, the Draper community is beginning to crack down on EV dirt bikes after a rash of incidents involving them and locals throughout the community, with the local police issuing a statement on its Facebook page reminding residents and the parents of these teens and young adults that these are, in fact, off-road vehicles.
Per the post, "Electric motorcycles are classified by state law as off-road vehicles. Per Utah State Code and Draper City Ordinance, they are not legal to operate on any public road, sidewalk, trail, or in parks. They may only be operated off-road, with the property owner’s permission. Draper City is experiencing consistent issues with these motorcycles damaging parks, trails, and park strips (see photos in post). Additionally, the Draper Police Department has been addressing serious safety concerns with operators who are speeding and driving recklessly. The police department is enforcing the law and even impounding these vehicles as warranted. We ask owners of these vehicles to ensure they are operated legally and safely to protect lives and property."
Now, here's where I'm going to state two things. First and foremost, please for the love of all that's good, pay attention to local laws and ordinances. These EV dirt bikes are awesome ways to give your children and teens freedom, as well as get them into motorcycles. They're perfect beginner bikes for them, and if they're banned, I am going to have to start agreeing with my colleagues that motorcycling in the youth demographic is, in fact, dead.
However, I'd like to call upon townships, cities, and local constituencies to do something about making these legal to ride on city streets, because come on.
If we can adopt better laws, laws that pertain to these motorcycles, then you wouldn't have the sort of lawlessness you're seeing right now. With the above statement by the Draper Police citing local statutes, you legally can't ride these anywhere near your house unless you live by me and public lands are plentiful. But for the folks in the Salt Lake City area, as well as municipalities across the country, where suburbia sprawls everywhere, where can you go? You have to make it legal to ride somewhere, otherwise you make everything illegal and you end up with kids tearing up parks and golf courses.
Also, ban golf courses. They're a waste of space and water.
But seriously, if you make it illegal to ride everywhere, you make these situations that Draper is facing inevitable. I want to see more folks riding motorcycles. I want to see more kids out away from their tablets, phones, and TV screens. I want them outside and doing stuff. But if you make it so hard, or potentially illegal, to do those outside fun things, then what are we really doing here? Yet, again, for the kids who aren't playing by the rules, please, just pay attention so you're not pissing everyone off to the point they ban these.
