Dear Council Members and Capt. Watts:
Yesterday, while driving an elderly passenger in her vehicle, I witnessed conduct that could have easily resulted in multiple serious injuries or fatalities.
Two e-bikes carrying four girls, approximately 12 to 13 years old, turned eastbound onto Balour Drive from the north side of Requeza Street. The first e-bike carried a passenger who was fully seated backward while filming the driver. Her helmet was unbuckled. A second e-bike carrying two additional girls followed only a few feet behind.
After entering the protected bike lane in front of Oak Crest Middle School, which is separated by bollards, the driver of the first e-bike began kicking the bollards as she rode past them, while her passenger continued filming the deliberate destruction of property.
At approximately the third bollard, even with the car’s passenger-side quarter panel, the driver lost control of the e-bike. At the same moment, the second e-bike nearly collided with the first. All four children nearly struck the car.
The only reason those four girls were not injured is that I swerved into oncoming traffic to avoid them. Had I remained in my lane, the first e-bike would have struck the passenger side of the vehicle, likely throwing all four of them onto the car and the asphalt, with at least one not wearing her helmet securely.
The facts are straightforward. These children were not lacking information. They were not victims of inadequate infrastructure. They were not confused about basic safety. They were engaged in reckless behavior that demonstrated a complete absence of supervision, accountability and consequences.
I see more parental oversight and more responsible behavior from minors at shooting ranges than I see from many children operating e-bikes on public streets. That should alarm every parent and policymaker in this community.
The ongoing debate over e-bike safety continues to focus on infrastructure, taxpayer-funded education programs and government responsibility. Based on what we all witness on our streets, that discussion is avoiding the most obvious and uncomfortable truth: The primary problem is not the roads, the City Council’s commitment to public safety, the school board’s bike education policies or the Sheriff’s Office oversight.
The primary problem is parental negligence.
Yet the public conversation continues to revolve around demands for more taxpayer spending, more bike lanes, more barriers, more signage and more educational campaigns. At some point, we must acknowledge reality: No amount of infrastructure can compensate for parents who provide children with motorized vehicles and then fail to establish or enforce basic safety standards.
Children do not develop these behaviors in a vacuum. They ride this way because they believe there are no consequences. They believe there are no boundaries. In many cases, that belief is correct.
Some politically motivated groups routinely criticize the city and claim public officials are not doing enough. Absent are those same groups demanding parental accountability. Where are the Bike Coalition and Safe Streets in this conversation? What I do not hear are calls for parents to supervise their children, require proper helmet use, prohibit passengers from riding unsafely, or remove riding privileges when rules are violated. These groups are too busy demanding entitlements and programs that have proven ineffective.
Before a child is permitted to ride an e-bike to school or park one on campus, there should be mandatory joint training for both the parent and the student. Parents should be required to acknowledge their responsibilities and certify that they understand the risks associated with allowing a child to operate a motorized vehicle on public roads — roads that are increasingly congested by development.
Most importantly, we should stop treating this issue as though it can be solved solely through public spending. Taxpayers should not be expected to endlessly fund new street projects to compensate for parental negligence. The expectation that government can engineer every road to protect children from reckless conduct is unrealistic, irresponsible and dangerous.
Sheriff’s deputies are not babysitters for parents who choose to provide equipment to children who are ill-equipped to comprehend the consequences of their actions. Every public discussion and decision that fails to include this missing component is one more day that puts a child at risk of injury or death.
The hard truth is that if parents are unwilling to set boundaries, enforce rules and prioritize safety, no amount of taxpayer-funded infrastructure will prevent tragedies. Roads can be improved. Education can be expanded. Enforcement can be increased. The city can spend more money. But none of those measures can replace responsible parenting.
As future expenditures and policy changes are considered, please address the root cause rather than the symptoms. Until parental responsibility becomes part of this conversation and any vote, we will continue to witness preventable incidents that place children, drivers, pedestrians and the broader public at risk. I implore the city to include provisions that emphasize parent participation in any publicly funded education program.
The missing piece is not another bike lane, another sign or another taxpayer-funded program. The missing piece is parental responsibility.
I am including a portion of a podcast featuring a sheriff, a former classmate from my hometown of St. Augustine, Florida, which is similar in lifestyle and demographics to Encinitas. This clip was recorded exactly one year ago. Since it aired last summer, the sheriff’s community has experienced an e-bike fatality and another life-threatening injury involving a 12-year-old just two weeks ago.
Natalie Settoon
Cardiff-by-the-Sea Resident
