ENCINITAS — Diegueño Middle School students gathered in Cougar Hall on Aug. 24 as part of a school district effort to improve bicycle and e-bike safety among students.
The San Dieguito Union High School District partnered with the San Diego County Bike Coalition to offer the Bike Safety program.
A district spokesperson said Diegueño was the last of the district’s five middle schools to receive the instruction, which took place during students’ regular physical education periods. Altogether, about 3,500 students participated in the interactive presentation.
Kevin Baross, the coalition’s education manager, led the discussion in Cougar Hall.
Baross walked students through a series of definitions, including what qualifies as an e-bike.
“If something doesn’t have pedals, it’s not an e-bike,” he said. “But if it does have pedals, it might be an e-bike.”
Baross explained the different classes of e-bikes and how some vehicles that resemble e-bikes are actually motorcycles that unlicensed riders are not allowed to operate.
He explained that Carlsbad prohibits children younger than 12 from riding e-bikes, while the practice remains legal in Encinitas under current law.
“It can get confusing,” Baross said.
He invited questions from students, who ranged in age from 11 to 14. One student asked whether riders could leave a designated bike lane and enter a wider travel lane if the bike lane felt unsafe because it was narrow or next to parked cars, such as along Coast Highway 101.
“You’re allowed to leave that bike lane if it’s painted in a place that’s so close to a parked car,” Baross said, using the basketball court lines to demonstrate the close proximity. “If you do that, know that people might be a little confused about what you’re doing.”
Baross explained common road signs and other traffic laws riders may encounter, including yield signs and roadway markings indicating that cyclists should use travel lanes.
He also noted that drivers are legally required to provide cyclists with at least 3 feet of space when passing, and demonstrated how riders can use their positioning within a lane to communicate where they intend to go.
Baross walked students through ways to navigate particularly dangerous intersections with multiple lanes of traffic, using an intersection near Point Loma as an example.
“Roads are for people,” Baross said. “Not just people in cars.”
The lesson ended with a demonstration of the proper way to wear a helmet, including how the required protective equipment should fit around the eyes, chin and ears.
Micah Putnam, 13, an eighth grader, said he enjoys the physical activity involved in riding his pedal bicycle to school.
“It’s fun,” Putnam said. “I like doing it before school because it feels like it wakes me up a little bit.”
Putnam said he was most surprised to learn that motorists are legally allowed to drive across sidewalks when entering or leaving driveways.
Grace Haskell, 13, also an eighth grader, said she was surprised to learn about the different classifications of e-bikes.
Haskell said she enjoys riding her e-bike because it gives her independence when she wants to visit friends.
“I can go anywhere without my parents taking me,” Haskell said. For non-riders, “their parents have to take them everywhere and e-bike riders can just go wherever they want and they just have to ask their parents.”
Students who ride pedal bicycles or e-bikes to campus must obtain a district-issued bicycle tag. The grace period ends Aug. 28.
High school students must complete an online course before receiving the tags, which must be displayed on their bicycles or e-bikes for the vehicles to be permitted on campus.
