HW resident creates campaign for mandatory e-bike education

Linda Sibley decided to go on her daily run on a morning in September 2024. 

While running, she said she was almost struck from behind by a student riding an electric bicycle to school. 

While she was concerned about the fact she had not heard the e-bike, nor had she seen any lights, she decided to let it go. 

“But then shortly thereafter, over the next couple of days, as I was running longer, because I was training for a half-marathon, it happened to me a few more times,” Sibley said. “It wasn’t the same student, so I realized that this was really an issue, not only for me, but for anybody else that was out on the sidewalks or the bike trails.” 

The Orange County Board of County Commissioners discussed the increase of e-bikes on the roads Tuesday, Dec. 2. At that meeting, District 1 Commissioner Nicole Wilson proposed the county conduct research on the issue to then put new policies in place. 

Wilson acknowledged the many petitions and proposals made to Orange County and the state regarding laws and rules to be put in place to minimize crashes and fatalities, including Sibley’s ongoing effort to make a change regarding the topic. 

District 2 Commissioner Christine Moore supported the idea of creating change through the county and schools, hoping to partner with Orange County Public Schools to ensure students are safe. 

“I really hope that (in the) first week of school, we can develop some sort of a module about safe walking and biking to school,” she said. “We have to work together. We have to have a more collaborative approach because they are all our children.”

Although no immediate decision was made, commissioners will continue to talk about it, and so will Sibley. 

“I cannot live with myself if one of your children was struck at an intersection, and it was partly because nobody spoke up,” Sibley said. “I’ve just been speaking up, because I don’t want to see any of you hit somebody, nor do I want to hear that one of your children was hit.”

After her run-ins in 2024, Sibley began asking questions regarding the matter on Facebook.

“What struck me was the fact that people my age, because I’m 72, were very concerned that when they were  walking on the sidewalk getting some exercise, they had to start changing their behavior and the timeframe they were out on the sidewalk because they were just fearful that they were going to get struck from behind,” she said. 

Sibley started a petition to strongly urge Orange County to work with OCPS to develop and implement a comprehensive moped and e-bike driver safety program, a program that would be mandatory for all students, as well as their parents, to take and pass before any authorization to drive either a moped or e-bike to school is granted.

Sibley’s idea came after she researched the topic, where she came across California’s ordinance on e-bikes and mopeds. 

“They had to develop a program that — based on what I have read and seen— has absolutely evolved over time to be an incredibly successful program,” she said. 

The state not only educates riders through online classes, but also it makes them go out on the road and sidewalks to be tested.  

Sibley said she also is pushing for public service announcements to be put around Florida, educating parents, students and all riders about the dangers of e-bikes, mopeds and e-scooters. 

So far, her petition has gathered 953 signatures out of the 1,000-signature goal she set, as petitions with more than 1,000 supporters are more likely to receive traction, which tends to lead to ordinances and changes. 

To sign Sibley’s petition to develop and implement a comprehensive moped and e-bike driver safety program in Orange County, visit bit.ly/48sEQ7k.