Suffolk police strictly enforce e-bike law as injuries rise

A rider pulled over on the Long Island Expressway in Brentwood showed how quickly Suffolk’s new e-bike rules can turn into a ticket. Police say officers are now strictly enforcing the county law as injuries rise, and riders who ignore the restrictions are increasingly likely to be stopped on roads where they should not be riding at all.

Under the county rules, riders must be at least 16, wear a helmet, stop at red lights and stop signs, ride on the right side of the road with traffic, and carry no passengers. E-bikes and e-scooters are barred from sidewalks and from roadways with speed limits above 30 miles per hour. Riders also cannot carry items that block vision or control. Suffolk legislators said the devices can quickly reach 20 mph, and the county’s parent letter warned that violations can lead to arrest, a summons and/or impoundment.

County Commissioner Kevin Catalina called the vehicles “inherently dangerous,” and Suffolk police said they have issued nearly 100 tickets since March 1 for e-bike and e-scooter violations. The penalty structure escalates fast: a first offense can bring a fine of up to $500, a second up to $1,500, and a third offense can lead to jail time. Police also said reckless or impaired riding could lead to impoundment, putting parents, teens and commuters on notice that the county is treating the problem as more than a nuisance.

The crackdown followed the Suffolk County Legislature’s approval of Introductory Resolution 1835-2025 on Dec. 16, 2025, which adopted Local Law No. 6-2026 on electric scooters and electric-assist bicycles. The legislature said the move was driven by public-safety concerns for riders, pedestrians and drivers, especially because the devices can accelerate quickly in suburban traffic.

The medical warnings have been just as stark. At a March 27 safety forum at Stony Brook University’s Charles B. Wang Center, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook Children’s Hospital and Walk Safe Long Island brought together public-health and law-enforcement leaders, including Suffolk County Police Chief of Patrol Gerard Hardy and Officer James Spoerel. Pediatric trauma surgeon Richard Scriven said he had never seen such an “explosion” in admissions tied to e-bikes and e-scooters.

Stony Brook Children’s Hospital said micromobility injuries made up 30 percent of pediatric trauma activations in 2025, rose by more than 900 percent from 2023 to 2025, and became the hospital’s leading cause of trauma-related admissions by 2025. That surge helps explain why Suffolk is moving from warnings to active enforcement, and why the rules now matter on every ride from Brentwood to East Islip and beyond.