Electric dirt bikes are topping holiday wish lists this year, especially for middle-school boys. But parents who may be tempted to give in to the growing trend might want to reconsider.
Needham Community Outreach Officer Victoria Denneno, who is passionate about educating people about the dangers of e-bikes, said parents should think about them as they would firearms.
“You wouldn’t give a (young) kid a gift of a gun, because it’s dangerous,” Denneno said. “(E-bikes) are motorcycles. You’re giving your kid a motorcycle that could kill them or somebody else. Unattended, it can be deadly, and it’s happened.” On Nov. 21, a 13-year-old boy in Stoneham was killed riding his electric dirt bike on a local road.
Denneno, who is a mountain bike officer, first encountered these new bikes in summer 2024. This October, she had three encounters in one weekend. All were with boys around 13 years old.
One of the boys fled. “I’m on a pedal bike, and this kid knew. He was taunting me trying to get me to chase him,” she said. Not wanting to put the rider at risk from a pursuit, she did not follow. “I’ve been doing this for a long time now. I played the long game. We were able to identify him because he was on video. This whole town is on video. So I was able to identify him and talk to his parents.”
With closed-circuit cameras positioned around Needham and help from social media posts asking residents for help, Denneno said it took very little effort from a policing standpoint to find the rider — something kids should be aware of before they try to outrun police. The bike he was riding could reach speeds of 80 mph. “If you wouldn’t buy your kid a Yamaha motorcycle, why would you buy them a Surron dirtbike? They go the same (speed).”
The proliferation of electric dirt bikes has caused concern everywhere. “Every community is having problems with them,” said Denneno. “Every single one. Nantucket and the Islands are having horrible problems with them because they’re a quick way to zip around.” She said a quick Google search for “Surron” and “Massachusetts” renders articles from towns everywhere, and police departments across the state are trying to educate people via social media and other campaigns.
E-dirtbikes, like quads and gas-powered dirtbikes, fall under the category of off-highway vehicles (OHVs). But because they are relatively new — and electric — many people don’t seem to know that, often assuming they are like electric, or pedal-assist, bicycles. Any vehicle that can go over 20 mph unassisted falls under the moped category, also requiring it to be registered and the operator to have a license. Denneno said e-dirtbike users are doing neither.
Laws for OHVs are clear: they can’t be driven by anyone of any age anywhere other than sanctioned events, such as races, designated trails for such vehicles and private property with the owner’s written consent. More specifically by age, children under 10 are not allowed to operate any OHV other than correctly sized dirtbikes at sanctioned events; children 10-14 can ride quads and dirtbikes under 99ccs, or the electric equivalent, at sanctioned events; and children 14-16 can operate OHVs under 99ccs but must be supervised by an adult.
The lack of open space and large private plots of land has made the issue of off-road vehicles on local streets a greater issue in the eastern part of the state compared to towns to the west and south where designated spaces exist for riders. “If you don’t live in New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, or very close to one of these areas, they’re not even worth getting,” said Denneno.
But in an affluent town such as Needham, the price point for e-dirtbikes makes them accessible, and the lack of research being done before purchasing concerns her greatly. “Kids are getting really confrontational sometimes with us saying, ‘You’re wrong, you’re wrong.’ And I just tell them I’m not wrong, and I bring out this binder and show them and their parents.”
Children and adults alike often use the term “e-bike” to mean any electric bike, but there are key differences. For starters, most electric dirtbikes are able to go much faster than the 20mph unassisted limit for electric bicycles. Companies like Surron claim to have speed locks to limit the maximum speed, making them street legal. But Denneno said, “That is not the way here. It doesn’t matter.”
Similarly, pedal-assist bikes are not allowed to be modified to go any faster, and even at 20 mph, they are required to follow traffic laws and stay off sidewalks. “If you’re going 20 miles per hour on a sidewalk, someone steps out of CVS, that’s it.”
E-dirtbikes also look like motorcycles rather than bicycles, have pegs rather than pedals, and users often wear full-face helmets. Denneno said it is really up to parents to understand these differences and to not give into the pressure to buy their child an e-dirtbike, and she struggles to understand where the disconnect is for parents who presumably wouldn’t want to buy something deadly for their children. Not to mention, parents bear the responsibility if anything happens as a result of their child operating an e-dirtbike illegally.
“If they hit somebody and total their car,” said Denneno, “(the parents are) on the hook for that.”
Sometimes when stopped, Denneno said kids don’t want to provide their parents’ information, thinking it will prevent them from getting in trouble. “In reality,” she said, “if a rider of a pedal bike, e-bike or any motor vehicle fails to identify themselves, they can be arrested. Parents can also face legal ramifications for their children’s actions.” She said it is important that if pulled over by police, children should listen to the officers rather than argue. And parents will always find out.
“Given they’re juveniles, I always follow up with the parents,” said Denneno. “The kids don’t want the parents to know, I do not care. We’re actually going to sit down and have a conversation about this because I want (them) to see all of these laws and I want (their) parents to know that they were out here doing this.”
And as with most things nowadays, social media has only exacerbated the problem, with an inundation of videos, chat groups and Snapchats promoting e-dirtbikes, showing clips of riders doing stunts, and discussions of who has one and who’s getting one. Denneno said she’s very worried there will inevitably be a fatality. “Somebody is going to get really, really hurt, and that’s why I’m such a stickler about this. We’ve seen it in other communities and I’d hate to see it here. This town has had enough youth tragedies over years, we don’t need to add this into that.” She said Needham and most other communities are lucky that hasn’t yet been the case.
The conversation will be ongoing, as will Denneno’s effort to educate parents and kids alike. “I would put them in mailboxes. I would send carrier pigeons — anything I could to let parents know not to buy these. It’s a waste of money and your kid’s only going to get hurt or have some sort of police interaction.”
For more information about Massachusetts bike laws, visit MassBike.
Save as PDF