Holmes County leaders discuss growing e-bike safety concerns, prevention efforts

After two deadly e-bike crashes, state Rep. Mark Hiner met with Holmes County commissioners on April 6 to talk about what can still be changed on local roads before the next one. The discussion centered on how many more riders are showing up on county roads and on the calls Hiner has been hearing from constituents who want clearer answers on how to keep both riders and motorists safer.

That conversation points toward practical changes more than broad rhetoric. Ohio already sets some basic rules that could be reinforced through county education and signage. Class 1 and Class 2 e-bikes are generally permitted on bike lanes, sidepaths and shared-use paths. Class 3 e-bikes are generally not allowed on shared-use paths that are not next to a roadway, and riders must be at least 16 and wear a helmet. State law also requires e-bikes to be labeled with their class, top assisted speed and motor wattage, and it bars modifications that change that top speed without updating the label.

Holmes County’s road network makes those rules harder to ignore. Ohio Department of Transportation says more than 36,000 Amish citizens live in Holmes County and adjacent counties, while tourism brings millions of visitors into the area each year. A 2024 Daily Record account described local roads as carrying semis, trucks, tractors, cars, horse-drawn buggies, e-bikes, unpowered bikes, children walking to school and farm equipment. On hilly, twisting roads, that mix leaves little margin for confusion about speed, visibility or right of way.

The urgency sharpened after the death of 27-year-old Maria Kempf, whom WKYC reported died in an e-bike crash on State Route 39. The station said Kempf was wearing a reflective vest and had an operable flashing rear light. Another deadly crash, reported by Amish America, killed 30-year-old Jason Yoder in a Holmes County chain-reaction wreck while he was riding an e-bike and critically injured a Good Samaritan. Those crashes have made the issue feel immediate for families who travel the same roads every day.

The April 6 meeting did not produce a new county rule, but it made clear that prevention is now part of the local agenda. The next steps likely fall to the basic tools county leaders can actually influence: road signs, rider education, coordination on enforcement and clearer expectations for where different kinds of e-bikes belong. In Holmes County, where transportation already depends on a careful balance of cars, buggies, farm equipment and visitors, that guidance could shape daily travel before another serious crash forces the point.