The Newport Beach Police Department conducted a traffic safety operation on Saturday, July 9, 2022, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Newport Beach Police Department’s Traffic Division and Peninsula Enforcement Team (PET) partnered together in a joint operation to address any unsafe e-bike traffic with heavy enforcement as well as education.
This first operation focused on the peninsula area to include the oceanfront boardwalk. The oceanfront boardwalk is important to the City of Newport Beach and offers both residents and visitors of Newport Beach a unique opportunity to enjoy the coastline.
As a result, Officers saturated the oceanfront boardwalk to observe, educate, and enforce unsafe operations. The use of multiple LIDAR speed measuring devices contributed to the success of the operation:
During the operation, 198 boardwalk users were contacted. Of those, 82 were juveniles. The NBPD issued 60 citations or warnings, 55 to bike riders. A dozen of those issued citations or warnings were juveniles.
Additional e-bike traffic safety operations in the city are expected through summer.
Over the last year, the electric bike industry has boomed. E-bikes are now very popular throughout Orange County’s Beach Communities, especially here in Newport Beach. The Newport Beach Police Department has seen a dramatic increase in the number of e-bikes on the roads, trails, and sidewalks within our community. Unfortunately, there has also been a noticeable increase in traffic law violations that have caused some safety concerns.
Both the Newport Beach Police Department and the City of Newport Beach regularly receive complaints regarding e-bikes. The complaints include such things as children not wearing helmets, unsafe operations, California Vehicle Code (CVC) violations, and near collisions between e-bike riders and pedestrians.
The ultimate goal of these operations are to encourage the safe and responsible operation of e-bikes. This will be accomplished by heavily enforcing the law against violators while at the same time educating these e-bike riders on the rules of the road as well as provide e-bike traffic safety tips.
The Newport Beach Police Department strongly believes that these traffic safety operations with both their heavy enforcement and accompanied education will enhance the safety of both the residents and visitors to our community.
