Lawmakers take aim on e-bikes following ‘egregious civil disobedience,' in Ewa Beach

Yahoo

25-03-2025

EWA BEACH, Hawaii (KHON2) — Several lawmakers said they were disturbed with the behaviors seen during Saturday night's bike brawl in Ewa Beach.
One lawmaker wants to ensure Honolulu police go after the person in charge of the bike event.
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Honolulu Police said on March 24 that officers have spoken to The Bike Factory's Kapolei and Honolulu stores following a night of chaos in Ewa Beach Saturday, where one teen was arrested and another man was taken to the hospital in serious condition.
'I'm not happy with what happened in my beautiful community,' said Sen. Kurt Fevella. 'I will tell you right now, I'm not going to just sit down and let this happen and then not have a reaction.'
Fevella said he received numerous calls following the chaotic bike rideout event and said he was outraged when he had heard the Bike Factory owner blamed police for what unfolded.'I think that he needs to be accountable for what had happened, but he wants to blame HPD, and they were serving and protecting my community,' Fevella added.
KHON2 spoke with the owner of Bike Factory on March 23 who told us he hosts monthly rideout events across the island and it's meant to be beneficial for the community and they cannot control who attends the event. The owner was out of the country this weekend.
'So, I'm writing a letter to Steve Alm, our prosecuting attorney, to the Chief of Police, the major from the district eight, to find out what is the legal ramifications for an organized business that organized something where people got hurt, property damage, all of these things, and see what kind of legal action that we as legislators, lawmakers, at city council, can come together so that this will never happen again, because this is not a joke,' Fevella added.
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The state Transportation Committee chairs said they were disappointed when they saw the videos over the weekend.
'I was disappointed because these are young children that will one day become adults and this is the way that they are addressing law enforcement? Nobody should ever be talked to or threatened like that in that shape, former or manner, and so I want to thank our first responders for upholding all the pieces of laws that were being violated,' said Rep. Darius Kila, House Transportation Committee Chair.
He said they will be pushing for clearer e-bikes laws, including HB 958, which prohibits 16-year-olds and younger from riding Class 3 e-bikes which can essentially go as fast as motorcycles. It would also put the burden of responsibility on the purchaser and seller of e-bikes to know the rules of the roadway, and will lay the foundation for future e-bike laws.
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'I know very full well that these 13-year-olds are not able to get a vehicle or this bike that's that expensive without help from a parent,' Kila added. 'My plea is, our parents have to know where their kids are at. Do they not have any shame for the way that they interacted with our law enforcement? I get it, we can always disagree, but that was like the most egregious form of civil disobedience that I've seen in a long time.'
He called HB 958 'overarching omnibus regulation to stop what happened this weekend from ever happening again, and if it does happen, they will face their consequences set forth by law enforcement.'
'Of course, not all e-bike riders are bad riders, just like anybody who drives a car or just walks are all bad people. It's how we do it,' said Sen. Chris Lee, Senate Transportation Committee chair.
'When people do things like this and blatantly try to break the law and cause problems, you know, it makes everybody look bad, and it does reinforce the very point that there ought to be some really basic safety regulations that keep people safe on streets,' Lee added.
He says another measure would require Class 3 e-bikes to be treated like riding a motorcycle requiring a license, insurance and abide by the basic rules of the road.
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