Police Believe Enforcement Effort Has Improved Compliance With E-Bike Rules

Police Chief Jody Kasper believes that her department’s efforts to curb the misuse of e-bikes on Nantucket, which led to a series of dangerous crashes last summer, have been effective. But the toughest test will come in the next several months as the summer season rolls around again.

“We’re feeling better about where we were compared to [last] fall,” Kasper said. “I expect to see more collisions over the summer time. We can enforce, but people need to comply.”

Since the beginning of October, the police have been involved in 70 encounters involving e-bikes or motorized bikes. Of those encounters, 26 were in April, the last month with full data.

“I feel like [the department’s efforts have] filtered everywhere, and I just want to commend you for that,” Select Board member Jill Vieth said. “I think it’s just great for exposure for the department to be in the community and not in a hostile way.”

Still, e-bike accidents have continued, including one just this week when an 8-year-old boy on an e-bike was struck by a motor vehicle on Pakanoket Lane (a small side street near the high school) on Tuesday and was transported by ambulance to Nantucket Cottage Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

The police department carried out a targeted enforcement effort last fall and has been involved with a social media awareness campaign and lessons at Nantucket High School. They hope these interventions are enough to make a significant difference this summer.

“We have seen a dramatically noticeable change on the school campuses, particularly,” Kasper said. “The decrease that I’ve noticed are I haven’t seen double riders as much, which was a big problem in the summer and fall, I see less young people on things that are going really fast, I see more helmets. In general, we’re just seeing more compliance.”

Kasper also highlighted Governor Maura Healey’s Ride Safe Act, which, if passed, would require faster e-bikes to operate on roadways state-wide, set minimum age requirements and mandatory safety equipment for certain devices, and establish a clear enforcement authority for police.

Kasper said it can sometimes be difficult to stop e-bikes safely when they are on the bike path.

“It is just very tricky to stop people on these motorized devices and these electric devices when they’re on the path,” Kasper said. “We’ve really emphasized with our officers to focus on safety when you’re doing stops, so sometimes we may see a violation and just not be able to make the stop in a safe way. Our priority is always going to be safety.”