Riders on the Marvin Braude Bike Trail in Santa Monica face almost no speed enforcement, even as e-bike injuries across California hit record levels.

A UC San Diego study published July 17 in the journal Trauma Surgery and Acute Care Open found that e-bike collisions statewide jumped from two reported incidents in 2018 to 1,506 in 2024. The trail, a 22-mile coastal path that runs through Santa Monica, expects tens of thousands of visitors over the Labor Day weekend starting Saturday, Sept. 5.

Ted Lux, an avid cyclist who rides the trail regularly, wrote in a Sept. 3 opinion piece in the Argonaut News that he sees riders hitting 20 to 30 mph alongside pedestrians and other cyclists. He described teenagers riding tandem without helmets and adults over 30 exceeding 25 mph with no head protection on the narrow path.

"I see virtually no enforcement along the Braude bike path by local authorities," Lux wrote. "I suspect they are stretched too thin to deal with speeding E-bikers?"

Children disproportionately hurt in e-bike crashes

Researchers analyzed 4,035 e-bike collisions and 58,332 traditional bicycle collisions from the California Highway Patrol's Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System. E-bike riders were more likely to suffer moderate-to-severe injuries than traditional cyclists.

John Austin, a general surgery resident and research fellow at UC San Diego School of Medicine and the study's first author, said the data on young riders stood out. "One of our most concerning findings was the disproportionately high number of injured children involved in e-bike crashes," Austin said. "E-bikes provide valuable transportation and recreational benefits, but their higher speeds can generate crash forces more comparable to motorcycles than traditional bicycles …"

A separate study presented at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons annual meeting in March found that e-bike accidents involving children in San Diego rose over 300% from 2019 to 2023. At one pediatric trauma center, e-bikes went from 2% of trauma activations in 2017 to 64% in 2023.

Rules exist but enforcement gaps remain

Santa Monica permits Class 1 and Class 2 e-bikes on its section of the Marvin Braude trail. Under California law, all riders under 18 must wear a helmet on any e-bike, and all Class 3 riders must wear one regardless of age. AB 875, which took effect Jan. 1, gives officers authority to impound a Class 3 e-bike operated by a rider under 16, with a minimum 48-hour hold.

The city has invested in bike-safety technology. Santa Monica launched California's first AI-powered bike lane enforcement system on July 1, using cameras on parking enforcement vehicles to cite motorists who block bike lanes. The Los Angeles Times reported the program identified nearly 1,700 violations during a six-week pilot and averages about 150 citations per month. That system targets cars, not e-bikes.

No public statement from the Santa Monica Police Department or city lifeguards on e-bike enforcement along the trail was available as of publication.

At the state level, lawmakers have introduced nearly a dozen bills in the 2025-26 session to tighten e-bike regulation, Politico reported in April. They include AB 1942, which would require Class 2 and Class 3 e-bikes to register with the DMV, and AB 1557, which would lower speed caps.

Residents can report unsafe trail behavior to the Santa Monica Police Department's non-emergency line at 310-458-8491.