E-Bikes

E-bikes are everywhere. It seems like there’s a news report about an e-bike collision almost every day.

We have two e-bike cases in the office right now. I’m sure more will follow.

Here are some of my initial thoughts….

One of the big issues—in personal injury cases—is whether they should be treated like bicycles, motorcycles, or something in between.

CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM

In Washington there are three classes of e-bikes:

Class Motor Assist Limit Throttle? Key Restriction

Class 1 Pedal assist to 20 mph No Allowed most bike lanes & shared-use paths

Class 2 Pedal assist or throttle to 20 mph Yes (to 20 mph) Allowed most bike lanes & paths

Class 3 Pedal assist to 28 mph No (throttle capped at 20) No regional trails; 16+ riders only; speedometer required

In March 2026 Washington made a significant changes to the definition of “electric-assisted bicycle” under RCW 46.04.169. It excluded (and essentially made a motorcycle out of) any e-bike that can go over 20 MPH using only its electric motor.

NO LICENSES/NO INSURANCE

You need a license to drive a car. Same thing to ride a motorcycle. To get that license you have to go through a course and demonstrate proficiency.

But you don’t need license to ride an e-bike.

Pedal bikes were the first way most of us learned about interacting with cars on the road. But many kids don’t have that experience. Parents drive them from place to place. They don’t ride pedal bikes anymore.

So kids have their first interaction with e-bikes (or e-motorcycles) without any of that training.

Most are also unaware of the consequences of wrecking. When kids rode pedal bikes they knew what it felt like to get their feet caught in the spokes and go over the handle bars. Wounds suffered at 5 or 10 MPH left lasting memories. Kids zooming around at 20 - 50 MPH are in for a rude awakening.

You also don’t need insurance to ride an e-bike. And that’s a problem.

It’s a problem because without liability insurance (like under a motorcycle policy) you can’t buy Med Pay coverage or (probably most importantly) uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage. If you get hit on an e-bike by a car, your damages are likely going to be massive.

This isn’t such a big problem for a true e-bike because you can probably implicate the coverage under the household auto policy. But it is a big problem if what you’re riding isn’t an e-bike and is really an e-motorcycle.

If your child is riding an e-bike with a passenger and gets into a wreck it’s likely that your renters or homeowners policy will provide coverage. But that isn’t a sure thing because even though an e-bike isn’t a motor vehicle under Washington law, it might be a motor vehicle under a coverage exclusion.

If you don’t want to roll the dice about coverage under a homeowners policy it’s also possible to purchase stand-alone e-bike coverage from carriers like Velosurance and Markel or “micromobility endorsements” offered by some auto carriers. These policies are inexpensive.

RULES OF THE ROAD

E-bikes are treated like as bicycles and are subject to the rules of the road that apply to bicycles. Riders must signal, ride predictably, obey traffic controls, etc.

The rules of the road apply everywhere. But helmet requirements do not.

King County’s all-ages rule was repealed in February 2022. About a third of cities in King County have their own ordinances.

That’s a big problem for kids. At a minimum they should be wearing bike helmets. But even then, bike helmets are probably insufficient and definitely don’t do anything to protect against the litany of non-head injuries that can be suffered.

Bicycle helmets are imperfect. But the full face mountain bike helmets are going to offer a lot more protection than the traditional road helmets.

The vast majority of impacts involve a facial strike. So having that extra protection out in front becomes really important.

COMPARATIVE FAULT

Washington has a system where it weighs the respective fault of everyone responsible for a collision. But there are special rules that apply to kids.

For children between 6 and 16 their conduct is evaluated in comparison to the conduct of a “reasonably careful child” of the same age, intelligence, maturity, training, and experience.

That's because children don't have the same experience as adults. The child’s standard of care allows for the “normal incapacities” and “indiscretions” of youth.

This is particularly important in e-bike crashes because most kids between 6 and 16 have not been through driver’s education and don’t have the benefit of years of driving experience.

PARENTS

I think parental involvement is going to be a major issue.

In Washington kids can sue their parents for things like:

* Motor vehicle collisions.

* Premises liability.

* Negligent operation of machinery or equipment.

* Intentional torts like sexual abuse.

But they can’t sue them for injury caused by:

* Inadequate supervision.

* Decision whether to allow participation in a particular activity.

* Ordinary decisions regarding care, control, and upbringing.

So where does entrusting a child with an e-bike fall? I think there are valid arguments on both sides. And the next question is: If there is parental liability, from where does insurance coverage come? (We have a newsletter set to come out that deals with the “member of the same household” exclusion under most homeowners policies.)

#e-bike

#ebike

#electric

#scooter