“These are a recipe for kids and other people getting extremely injured or killed. Period,” Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard warned during a regional press conference covered by clickondetroit.com.
Law enforcement agencies across Metro Detroit are partnering with the Children’s Hospital of Michigan and the Detroit Medical Center to respond to a sharp spike in e-bike and e-scooter injuries among young riders. As hospital emergency rooms treat a growing number of traumatic injuries, municipal leaders are drafting local ordinances and calling for state-level regulations to curb the crisis.
Detroit Paramedics Record Rising E-Bike and E-Scooter Injuries
The Detroit East Medical Control Authority, which provides EMS services in Detroit and surrounding eastern communities, recorded 21 serious e-bike injuries requiring an ambulance in 2025. That figure climbed to 33 as of July of this year. E-scooter incidents are tracking even higher, with 123 incidents logged in 2025 and 79 already recorded by July.
Dr. Kelly Levasseur, medical director of pediatric emergency at the Children’s Hospital of Michigan, noted that the resulting trauma extends far beyond routine scrapes. Patients frequently present with severe head injuries and broken bones.
“These injuries can range from just a mild road rash, but we have to treat it like a burn, to significant injuries. So head injuries, broken bones,” Levasseur said.
Jessica Kalef experienced the danger firsthand after her 13-year-old son, Kasen, crashed his e-scooter in July and broke his wrist. She credited a helmet with preventing far worse trauma.
“It was the first question they asked us in the emergency room is if he was wearing a helmet,” Kalef said. “They definitely could see the effects that he had a helmet on. He was able to talk with the doctors, answer all of the questions, despite being shaken up from the incident.”
Bloomfield Township Acts After Critical Teen Crashes
Urgency in suburban communities intensified last month when two teenage boys were critically injured after being struck by a pickup truck while riding e-bikes near Telegraph and Hickory Grove roads in Bloomfield Township. Police in the township have responded to more than 100 complaints and dozens of e-bike crashes over the past year.
In response, the Bloomfield Township Board of Trustees enacted a six-month moratorium on September 14, prohibiting anyone under 16 from operating e-bikes or e-scooters on township-owned property, sidewalks, and public rights-of-way. Young riders seeking to maintain riding privileges must complete a four-hour safety course launching next month.
Community Relations Officer Sean Manor explained that the curriculum focuses on practical road safety and legal compliance. Successful participants receive a certificate and a registration sticker.
“It’s going to be about a four-hour class, going over a lot of the legalities of what is an e-bike, riding them on the road, how to safely ride them on the road, pass pedestrians, signal turns,” Manor said.
Regional Enforcement and Calls for State Oversight
Other Metro Detroit municipalities are following suit. Sterling Heights is drafting a municipal ordinance to establish clear legal definitions for e-bikes and e-scooters, outline penalties, and structure enforcement.
Sterling Heights Police Lt. Lamar Kashat emphasized that the initiative prioritizes public awareness alongside ticketing. Meanwhile, county sheriffs including Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard and Wayne County Sheriff Raphael Washington, alongside Macomb County Sheriff’s Office Captain Jeffery McPherson, are pushing for broader legislative solutions.
Bouchard advocated for mandatory buyer disclosures detailing applicable laws, as well as formal licensing requirements for new operators. Police departments continue to urge parents to verify motor sizes, top speeds, and pedal configurations before purchasing motorized bikes for minors.
