City of Goleta teams up with MOVE Santa Barbara County for E-Bike Safety Awareness
GOELTA, Calif. – The City of Goleta teamed up with MOVE Santa Barbara County to bring awareness to the importance of e-bike safety.
On Saturday, Jan. 27, people from the community came out to Goleta Valley Junior High School to learn some safety tips, how to interact with traffic, and participated in a community ride. Some received a free helmet and lights.
The event was part of the city's E-Bike Safety Awareness Week that kicked off January 16. This is the city's second e-bike safety weeklong event. Saturday's event was rescheduled due to rain on Jan. 20.
During a city council meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 16, Mayor Paula Perotte kicked off the week with a proclamation and said, "Electric bicycles are heavier and faster than standard bicycles and, without the proper safety education and training, e-bike riders have a higher risk of becoming severely injured or killed in a crash.”
Kim Stanely-Zimmerman with MOVE Santa Barbara County accepted the proclamation saying, "There are many benefits to driving an e-bike including reducing traffic, parking demand and air pollution."
MOVE Santa Barbara County teamed up with Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital to hand out helmets and lights to students at Dos Pueblos High School and Goleta Valley Junior High School during E-Bike Safety Awareness Week.
“Practicing bike safety precautions, especially wearing a helmet, is essential to preventing or minimizing injury, regardless of age,” said Lauren Sutherlin, Trauma Nurse Coordinator at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital. “Given the higher speeds associated with e-bikes, a properly fitting helmet significantly reduces the risk of serious head and brain injuries in the case of a fall or collision.”
According to the California Highway Patrol, there were more than 9,600 bicycle-involved crashes in California in 2022, 225 of which involved an e-bike (an increase over 80 the prior year) and four of which resulted in fatal injuries.
