California Class 3 Speed Limit Petition Reaches 100,000 Signatures

A coalition of road-safety advocacy groups, anchored by Streets Are For Everyone (SAFE), has reached 100,000 signatures on a petition asking the California legislature to reclassify Class 3 e-bikes as 'low-speed motorcycles' under the California Vehicle Code. The reclassification would require state registration, insurance, and a driver's license to operate.

Industry response has been swift and largely opposed. PeopleForBikes issued a statement arguing that the petition's framing 'misdiagnoses the underlying safety issue' and that targeting Class 3 as a vehicle category would not address the actual problem, which is unsupervised teen use of throttle-assist e-bikes regardless of class.

Several Southern California cities — Newport Beach, Encinitas, Carlsbad — have already enacted age-based municipal codes that bar riders under 16 from Class 3 use. The petition organizers want a uniform statewide rule rather than a patchwork of city ordinances.

The petition has been referred to the California Senate Transportation Committee. A formal bill draft has not yet been introduced. Industry trade groups are expected to lobby against any reclassification, while school district and pediatric trade groups are expected to support some form of additional regulation.