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Alderman Thompson calls for city of La Salle to regulate e-bikes · Illinois Valley - Shaw Local

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  Alderman Thompson calls for City of LaSalle to regulating e-bikes. Written by
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  Emily Beebe. This article is being read by an automated voice brought
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  to you by Everlett. At the September 28th, LaSalle City Council meeting,
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  First Ward Alderman Bob Thompson called for the city to crack down
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  on regulating e-bikes. This was due to a collision that left 4,200
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  in damages that the victim had to pay, A 500 deductible, and
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  a rider he said likely had no license. We need to crack
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  down. It's expensive, Thompson said. LaSalle Police Chief Jason Stubler described the
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  incident in detail. A vehicle was traveling south on Buckland Street, came
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  to a complete stop at 5th Street and was beginning a left
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  hand turn eastbound. A bicycle, human powered with no electric motor, was
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  traveling southbound in the northbound lanes. The bicycle failed to stop and
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  struck the rear driver's side door of the turning vehicle. No injuries
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  were reported, but damages exceeded four thousand dollars. After discovering that the
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  incident was from a human powered bicycle and not an e-bike, Thompson
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  said. It does not change his concerns. No, not at all. That
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  was a regular bike going downhill at speed. I don't know if
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  the bike had good brakes, Thompson said. I don't know if we
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  had a light on. I think than
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  would have mattered because it was the wrong road. LaSalle recorded 226
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  crashes over the past year, the Chief said. Four, roughly 1, involved
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  bicycles. Two were e-bikes, and two were human powered. I'm not seeing
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  a distinct difference in having more e-bike crashes than human powered crashes,
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  the Chief said. The data really doesn't show a distinct difference between
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  e-bikes and human pedal. Rather than enforcement, the La Salle Police Department
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  prefers to educate and has taken a distinct approach by creating a
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  voucher initiative where officers reward riding e-bikes, scooters, and bicycles safely
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  with free food and drinks. The city has partnered with businesses such
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  as Beck's, Shell, and Casey's gas stations. There are no traffic stops
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  or red and blue lights. Hundreds have been issued both to kids
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  and adults and have had a good response from the community. We
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  don't stop and detain them, the chief said. Instead we are like,
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  Hey, thanks for demonstrating safe driving habits on an e bike. Have
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  a nice day. It wouldn't break my heart one bit if we
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  never had to write one traffic ticket for a bicycle violation, Stubler
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  said. However, enforcement still happens. Stubler said he personally stopped a writer
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  who ran six stop signs in a row down Marquette Street. You're
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  not exempt from being detained by police when you show bad behavior,
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  he said. Thompson said positive reinforcement is good for those who are
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  already following the rules. Those things are good. Those are positive reinforcements
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  for correct behavior, Thompson said. But that doesn't control the people that
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  don't obey the law, and the people that do obey the laws
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  are not the ones causing the issues. He said the problem comes
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  down to enforcement and penalties severe enough to deter. If the penalties
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  attached to that enforcement don't sway people, then the penalties aren't severe
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  enough, Thompson
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  said The only way to get people to obey the laws and
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  rules is if the repercussions are severe. A new state law signed
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  in August will impose minimum ages and license and registration requirements for
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  high powered electric devices, beginning in January. Stubler said his department wouldn't
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  enforce those as it would a passenger vehicle, since where registration, insurance,
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  and a driver's license would be required, particularly after a collision. Thomson
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  Saud's laws alone are insufficient. Making laws doesn't necessarily correct the problem,
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  he said. It gives an avenue, but laws have to be enforced.
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  Probably half the laws that are on the books don't need to
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  be there anymore. Yet we never remove old laws. We just keep
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  adding new ones.