Warren weighs tougher e-bike and minibike rules as crashes climb to 13 this year

WARREN, Mich. — Warren city leaders are considering stiffer rules for e-bikes, electric motorcycles and gas-powered minibikes after crashes involving the vehicles climbed for a second straight year, C&G Newspapers reported.

Warren police counted two such crashes in 2024 and eight in 2025, according to department figures cited in the report. There have been 13 so far in 2026. Two of last year’s crashes caused serious injuries and one was fatal; this year there has been one serious-injury crash and no deaths.

The options. At an Oct. 6 Committee of the Whole meeting, council members talked about raising fines, keeping e-bikes out of city parks and adding safety lessons in local schools. Officials also said the state may need to step in, especially on more powerful electric motorcycles.

The meeting came shortly after three juveniles were hospitalized following a minibike crash near Jackson and Memphis streets.

Council Secretary Mindy Moore first raised the issue in September after hearing from residents. “People are afraid,” she said. “They’re racing up and down in front of businesses and things like that.”

How police are handling it. Police Commissioner Eric Hawkins said chasing young riders is “just not practical and it’s just not safe,” so the department uses its drones to track the vehicles and find out where the riders live, and officers follow up there. This year police have impounded 21 vehicles, mostly minibikes, and issued 14 citations for unsafe or improper operation. They have also written three parental responsibility tickets to parents of juveniles caught riding recklessly or illegally.

Part of the problem is the paperwork. Michigan law generally treats e-bikes as bicycles, so crash reports lump them in with regular bikes, while e-motos and gas minibikes fall under different rules. Michigan State Police plan to add a separate e-bike category to the state crash report in 2027.

What’s next. No ordinance has been drafted. Jeff Schroeder, an attorney hired by the council, recommended a work group of council members, police and city lawyers to write rules that can actually be enforced. “We can write a beautiful ordinance,” he said, “but that doesn’t mean it’s going to solve the problem.”

Sources:
C&G Newspapers, “Warren officials weigh tougher e-bike, minibike rules,” Oct. 18, 2026, https://www.candgnews.com/articles/government-news/warren-officials-weigh-tougher-e-bike-minibike-rules/
Photo: Ser Amantio di Nicolao, “Veo electric bike in shadow on a Foggy Bottom sidewalk.jpg,” Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped and color-adjusted, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Veo_electric_bike_in_shadow_on_a_Foggy_Bottom_sidewalk.jpg

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Tags: E-Bikes · Public Safety · Warren · Warren City Council · Warren Police