HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Hendersonville police are warning parents about the dangers and legal responsibilities of children riding e-bikes, scooters, and golf carts on neighborhood roads as the weather gets warmer.
Police said golf carts continue to raise concerns. Drivers must have a license, and the carts should be equipped with headlights, taillights, mirrors, turn signals, and a horn.
However, e-bikes are generating the most calls to the department as more teenagers ride on the roads.
"So the biggest complaints we have currently is the e-bikes," Hendersonville Police Chief Josh Morrison said. "Right when the weather started getting nice is when the uptick of the complaints started."
Students are frequently riding e-bikes and scooters to friends' houses or parks after school.
"The kids are riding in pairs, two, three, four, up to 10… groups of 10," Morrison said.
These groups sometimes take up entire lanes on bikes that move much faster than they appear.
"The parents are giving their kid basically a motorized vehicle that can go up to 20 to 28 miles an hour," Morrison said.
Under Tennessee law, e-bikes are treated just like traditional bicycles. Riders must follow the rules of the road.
"They have to stop at stop signs, give hand signals," Morrison said.
If children fail to follow these traffic laws, their parents could pay the price.
"If your child is committing a violation, the parent can actually receive that citation," Morrison said.
Police emphasized they are not trying to stop kids from getting outside and having fun, but they want to ensure neighborhood roads remain safe.
"We want children to be outside, we want children to experience, but we also want them to be safe, and we want parents to be responsible — we cant be watching every child out on the roadway, we need parents to parent their children," Morrison said.
Have you noticed an increase in e-bikes or golf carts in your neighborhood? We want to hear about your experiences and any safety concerns you might have. Watch the full video report above to see how fast these e-bikes are traveling, and share your thoughts by emailing kim.rafferty@NewsChannel5.com.
In this article, we used artificial intelligence to help us convert a video news report originally written by Kim Rafferty. When using this tool, both Kim and the NewsChannel 5 editorial team verified all the facts in the article to make sure it is fair and accurate before we published it. We care about your trust in us and where you get your news, and using this tool allows us to convert our news coverage into different formats so we can quickly reach you where you like to consume information. It also lets our journalists spend more time looking into your story ideas, listening to you and digging into the stories that matter.
Austin Pollack brings us an update on a remarkable young man facing great odds, and his family has one simple request: pray for Cole. I believe in the power of prayer and hope you'll join me in lifting up Cole and his family.
- Carrie Sharp
