Marin County Grand Jury
• 2024-2025
• Agency Response
Response to:
Cyberattacks: A Growing Threat to Marin Government
With Power Comes Responsibility – Youths Under Age 16 Operating Class 2 E-Bikes: a Safety Risk*
⚠️ Translation Notice: This content has been automatically translated. The original English text is the official version. Translation may contain errors.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Findings and Recommendations 6 findings
F1
The increasing number of e-bike accidents involving youths under the age of 16 presents a public health and safety danger in Marin. Response: Agree.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
By December 31, 2024, the Board of Supervisors, and each municipality in Marin should take all steps necessary to adopt an ordinance with regard to class 2 e- bikes with, at minimum, the following provisions: Only people aged 16 or older may operate class 2 e-bikes. (a) Operators of class 2 e-bikes must wear helmets. (b) All passengers on class 2 e-bikes must wear helmets. (c) Response: This recommendation requires further analysis. Additional research is needed and coordination among jurisdictions would be required. This matter will be brought back to the City Council for an update and to determine next steps on or before October 26, 2024.
F2
The operation of class 2 e-bikes by operators under the age of 16 poses a significant risk to the safety of e-bike operators, other bike riders, passengers, and pedestrians on sidewalks, streets, multi-use paths, and trails in Marin. Response: Agree.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
By December 31, 2024, the County of Marin and each municipality in Marin should take all steps necessary to establish a joint task force or committee to investigate and consider coordination among the county and municipalities about adopting a county-wide uniform set of regulations regarding e-bike use within the County of Marin. Response: This recommendation requires further analysis. Additional research is needed and coordination among jurisdictions would be required. The City of Novato agrees with this recommendation and has agreed to participate in a joint task force or committee, which could provide consistency in enforcement and education policies throughout the County and its municipalities, however the City of Novato reserves the right to explore individual options specific to Novato. This matter will be brought back to the City Council for an update and to determine next steps on or before October 26, 2024.
F3
The emerging and increasing safety issues related to class 2 e-bike use by operators under the age of 16 has not been addressed by Marin County or the municipalities in a uniform manner. Response: Agree.
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
Any task force or committee as described in Recommendation 2, above, should consider inviting representatives from Marin County schools, law enforcement, public health officials, and bicycle advocates to provide their input. Response: This recommendation requires further analysis. Additional research and coordination among jurisdictions would be required. The City of Novato agrees with this recommendation and has agreed to participate in a regional task force or committee that involves all relevant partners that have a stake in the process, however the City of Novato reserves the right to explore individual options specific to Novato. This matter will be brought back to City Council for an update and to determine next steps on or before October 26, 2024.
F4
For all practical purposes, the state of California has abdicated its responsibility to regulate the use of class 2 e-bikes, leaving it up to the County of Marin and the Marin municipalities to create their own regulations. Response: Agree.
Related Recommendations (1)
R4
By December 31, 2024, the Board of Supervisors should explore options for additional funding for student and public education in Marin County about e-bike safety. Response: This recommendation will not be implemented because it is not warranted or is not reasonable. It is not applicable to this jurisdiction and should be commented on by the Board of Supervisors only. ---
F5
The funding to continue the e-bike specific safety and training program (E-bike Smart Marin) provided by the Marin County Bicycle Coalition is not sustainable without new sources of funding. Response: Agree. Marin County public schools are not currently able to implement additional bicycle safety
No recommendations for this finding
F6
training programs for students, beyond what has been offered by Safe Routes to Schools for many years. Response: Agree RESPONSE TO GRAND JURY RECOMMENDATIONS
No recommendations for this finding
* This report's PDF did not contain easily extractable text and required Optical Character Recognition (OCR) for analysis. There may be minor errors in the extracted findings and recommendations due to OCR limitations with scanned documents.