E-bikes are the ‘first car’ of LA teens — parents – Latest News
The e-bike is turning into the “first car” for LA youngsters. And parents are discovering that purchasing independence for his or her children comes with a truckload of worries.
Growing up in Livingston, New Jersey, I used to be a bit of an anomaly amongst my pals. Everyone else couldn’t wait to get a allow and a driver’s license. I most well-liked being pushed to and from college.
Our high college car parking zone had every thing from Toyotas to Range Rovers. Whatever the brand, a first car meant freedom and a glimpse of who you wished to be.
When I moved to LA in my early 20s, that appeal made even more sense. In this car-obsessed metropolis, freedom and a first set of wheels have been virtually inseparable, a coming-of-age ceremony.
Now, the first set of wheels turning heads exterior colleges could include handlebars and a battery.
At the high finish, there are e-bikes that value $20,000 — more than a used Mercedes.
But a customary e-bike costing round $2,000 may give a teenager independence for a fraction of the price of a used car, with out the gasoline payments or the expense of including a teenage driver to the household’s insurance coverage.
Charging, upkeep and a helmet nonetheless value money, however a mother or father can save significantly whereas reclaiming afternoons from the pickup circuit.
“Can you drive me?” turns into “Can I take my bike?” That provides hours back into a mother or father’s schedule. And for a teenager, the freedom of an e-bike appears like admission to a higher social life.
But there are main dangers. The mother or father imagines their son or daughter taking a wise route to high school. Their teenager imagines taking the e-bike in every single place else.
Then come the hospital numbers.
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles reported in July that it was seeing about one little one a day with e-bike accidents this summer time, in contrast with 10 youngsters in all of June 2025. The largest quantity of crashes concerned teens between ages 14 to 17.
About one little one a day. At one hospital.
The accidents could be extreme. The hospital describes concussions, fractures, inner trauma and traumatic mind accidents.
Likewise, Children’s Hospital Orange County reported 201 pediatric e-bike trauma sufferers in 2025, up from 125 in 2024, a roughly 61% increase. E-bike accidents turned the main purpose for emergency-department trauma visits at that hospital.
The phrase “bike” can obscure the seriousness of what a mother or father is shopping for.
So can the advertising. Legal e-bikes and high-powered electric bikes are completely different machines. Class 3 e-bikes present pedal help up to twenty-eight mph, whereas more highly effective machines bought beneath the e-bike label could face completely different licensing and registration necessities. California officers have warned parents about this distinction.
With a first car, we anticipate classes about intersections, blind spots and duty. An e-bike can enter household life with far much less preparation whereas placing a little one into the similar visitors, and with even much less safety.
As a mom, I perceive wanting youngsters outside, seeing pals and discovering their approach. My daughter is obsessive about vehicles, bikes, boats and planes — she was driving a scooter at one 12 months of age.
Independence issues. So does studying how to deal with it.
If an e-bike does the job of a first car, it deserves the first-car dialog: Where you may go, which route you’re taking, what you already know about visitors and what occurs whenever you break the guidelines.
Retailers ought to clarify precisely what they sell. Cities need secure routes connecting colleges and neighborhoods. Parents need to journey these routes with their youngsters earlier than handing over the freedom to journey alone.
My pals wished car keys. I wished a chauffeur. Today’s youngsters simply hit the energy button.
Parents could save a fortune on fuel and insurance coverage, however the anxiousness stays full price. And peace of thoughts simply isn’t half of the deal.
Adelle Nazarian is a journalist, entrepreneur and commentator masking politics, tradition and technology.
