Holmes County leaders push e-bike safety education on rural roads

On Holmes County’s narrow roads, e-bikes now move alongside buggies, semis, tractors and commuter traffic, and county leaders are pushing more safety education after a March 4 crash on Ohio 39 killed Jason L. Yoder, 30, of Sugarcreek, in Walnut Creek Township.

That crash, reported around 5:06 a.m. east of Township Road 420, was not the first deadly e-bike collision tied to the county’s road network. In 2025, Maria Kempf, 27, died after being struck by a car on State Route 39 while riding an e-bike. Officials said she was wearing a reflective vest and had an operable flashing rear light, details that underscore how little margin there is on roads where traffic can change speed quickly and shoulders are often limited.

The concern has been building for years. In 2023, local reporting noted about 250 Plain employees were riding e-bikes to work during the warmer months at Keim Lumber, and Kevin Buettner said there had already been 11 crashes involving e-bikes since 2020. Jim Smucker put the problem bluntly then: “the roads are not designed for bikes traveling next to trucks and cars.” In Holmes County, that warning lands differently than it would in a city, because the transportation mix is unusually dense and varied for a rural county.

Holmes County has nearly 37,000 Amish residents in Holmes and surrounding county areas and draws nearly 4 million tourists a year, according to Visit Amish Country Ohio. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated the county population at 44,970 on July 1, 2025, up from 44,223 in the 2020 census. That combination of local travel, tourism and traditional horse-drawn traffic means the arrival of more e-bikes is not just a lifestyle change. It is a new piece of daily road behavior that has to fit into an already crowded system.

Ohio law gives local riders and drivers some of the framework they need. Electric bicycles sold in the state must be labeled as class 1, class 2 or class 3, with top assisted speed and motor wattage identified. Class 1 and class 2 e-bikes are generally allowed on bike-exclusive or shared-use paths unless a local authority says otherwise, while class 3 e-bikes are more restricted unless a path specifically permits them. That matters in Holmes County, where the Holmes County Trail, county roads and back roads all serve different users.

The Holmes County Board of Commissioners also signaled how broad the county’s road priorities remain. Its April 6 agenda included a resolution accepting the bid award for the 2026 0.25% sales tax county road paving project, another reminder that road safety, road quality and traffic growth are now tied together. In Holmes County, the next safety lesson will have to reach drivers, buggy traffic and e-bike riders at the same time.