Eugene’s 4J school district is planning to ban e-motos from all campuses.
E-motos are heavy electric bikes that can go above 15 mph, relying on a twist throttle, not pedaling. They’re also not street legal in Oregon, and prohibited for those younger than 16 to operate.
The vehicles are already banned at Cal Young and Spencer Butte Middle School campuses.
Kelly McIver, a spokesperson for the 4J school district, told KLCC the upcoming district-wide ban is about clarifying Oregon law for 4J families.
“We're asking for parents and for students to leave the devices that are not allowed at home,” he said. “They may be able to operate them legally on their own private property, but if there are things that are essentially not allowed to be used on public streets, then we also don't want those things to be on our campus properties.”
The ban comes after safety concerns of students riding the vehicles without helmets, with friends, or too quickly through campuses.
“School staffing is not so plentiful that it's easy to have people everywhere all the time in every space, kind of observing you know what's happening,” McIver said. “These can be things that students can use with parental supervision in other places at other times, but they're just really not appropriate for having on the school grounds.”
Families of students who have used e-motos to travel to school can find vehicle regulations and state laws at the Oregon Department of Transportation’s website.
McIver said an announcement of the updated regulations will go out to parents soon.
