Manhattan Beach parents of e-bikers, take note: A new law, effective January 1, requires electric bikes to have a red reflector or solid or flashing red light with a built-in reflector in the back.

The new law (AB 544) requires riders to have the light during all hours of operation, not just during darkness as the law previously required.

The reflector "must be visible from a distance of 500 feet to the rear when directly in front of lawful upper beams of headlamps on a motor vehicle," according to the new law.

The law also allows minors who violate the required helmet law to take a California Highway Patrol-designed e-bike safety course to satisfy the safety requirement. 

While not creating a dramatic change, the new law reflects an effort by state and local authorities to regulate e-bikes as they proliferate in popularity, especially among riders under age 18. 

Manhattan Beach Middle School students were involved in a November incident that drew widespread fury and condemnation over reported "e-bike gangs." 

A second law (SB 586) provides greater regulatory clarity around e-motorcycles ("eMotos"), or off-highway electric motorbikes, which are often being sold as or confused with e-bikes. It classifies off-highway electric motorcycles as off-highway motor vehicles, therefore subjecting them to the rules and regulations relating to off-highway motor vehicles. 

Off-highway vehicles are motor vehicles that are used only off public roads and highways, on private land and lands that are open and accessible to the public. According to the State Assembly Committee on Transportation, "eMotos are a type of electric motorcycle with some models reaching 50 to 60mph, 8000 watts of power, and 50-90 mile ranges, with a rechargeable battery. They lack [operable] pedals and are typically designed as recreational all-terrain vehicles exclusively for off-road use. eMotos are not electric bicycles (e-bikes), although there are rising concerns that they are being marketed and sold as e-bikes."

E-motorcycles are not street legal and have been impounded by Manhattan Beach Police. More information on the difference between e-motorcycles and e-bikes is available in this MB News story.