Orange County is now treating e-bikes like guns. Can the crackdown make streets safer?

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Set us as preferred You’ve heard of gun buyback programs across the country, but in Orange County, they’ve taken it one step further to get another item that authorities say can be a deadly weapon off the streets — the e-bike.In September, the Orange County district attorney’s office will host an e-bike buyback program, offering anywhere from $200 to $1,000 for each, no questions asked.The program, said the office in a statement, is patterned after police departments’ gun buyback programs.“These vehicles are not child’s play, and the consequences are incredibly dangerous and increasingly deadly,” said Orange County Dist.Atty.

Todd Spitzer in a statement.“We are doing everything we can to protect and save lives.”“Buy back safety,” reads a flier for the event.

The efforts speaks to the increasingly stringent — and desperate — measures public agencies and lawmakers in California are attempting in order to stem a troubling rise in e-bike incidents.This summer has been marked by police pursuits, street takeovers and fatal crashes that have claimed the lives of innocent pedestrians and sent scores of riders to the emergency room.E-bikes have become a California phenomenon for both adults and children.

But officials are most concerned about young riders on the electric bicycles and motorcycles outfitted with the most powerful motors that can sometimes outrun police vehicles.Those powerful bikes have been the focus of the most scrutiny.Earlier this summer, Amazon agreed to halt sales of high-speed e-bikes in California amid criticism from state officials.

California law caps pedal-assisted e-bikes at 28 mph and throttle models at 20 mph, but Amazon had continued selling bikes capable of exceeding 40 mph despite the risks.According to a study by researchers at UC San Diego, crashes and injuries involving ...