Orange County considering rules for e-bikes and e-scooters, including helmets
Spurred by a teen’s death, Orange County commissioners expect to impose new rules on young riders of battery-driven bikes and electric scooters before the 2026-27 school year begins in August - with the goal of deterring reckless riding.
Commissioners spoke favorably Tuesday of rules suggested by the Sheriff’s Office to allow deputies to cite foolhardy teens.
The suggestions, which likely would mandate helmets for riders 16 and younger and require riders to slow down when approaching pedestrians, will be submitted to legal review, then formally to the commission for a vote later this summer.
Deputies also might be allowed to impound the vehicles of offenders.
The board heard from Nicolas Morrissey, who is responsible for directing safety programs and risk reduction programs across the Orange County Public School’s 200 campus where so-called micro-mobility devices are an increasingly popular commuter option for kids.
Morrissey said about 11,800 students ride to campus on battery-powered machines, better known as e-bikes and e-scooters.
Many riders are middle-schoolers eligible to take a bus to school. Emergency room statistics show injuries soaring.
“The risks are real,” Morrissey said, saying a solution will require strong community collaboration. “We are seeing a concerning number of incidents and frequent near misses, which may not always appear in formal reporting, but still indicate meaningful exposure to risk.”
Before the discussion began, Ashley Lachance, whose son perished in a Mother’s Day e-scooter accident, told commissioners she had urged him to be careful.
A spokesperson for the Florida Highway Patrol said 13-year-old Colton Remsburg was not wearing a helmet when he drove his vehicle into the path of a pickup truck near his mother’s home in Lake Nona. He died days later from his injuries.
Lachance said she was bothered by suggestions that parents have failed to educate their children on the risks.
“I would be willing to bet every parent has sat down with their child more than once and reminded them, ‘Wear your helmet, use the crosswalk, stay on the sidewalk, pay attention to cars, and look both ways.’ I know I did,” she said, her voice wavering. “I constantly reminded Colton to be safe. I would even text him every morning, asking him: ‘Did you make it to school safely?’ ”
But Orange County Sheriff’s Lt. Michael Crabbe showed commissioners a string of startling videos of student riders zooming away from a school campus, weaving in and out of traffic, and riding the wrong way on a highway.
“We have an issue as you can see,” he said.
He said riders often modify their e-bikes to bypass speed restrictors that limit the bikes to 28 mph.
The top speed that deputies have clocked is 83 mph. Crabbe said that rider got away - and wasn’t wearing a helmet.
Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings, a former sheriff and police chief, said enforcement provisions will be aimed at safety.
“Our ultimate goal obviously is to make our community safer as a result of whatever action we take,” he said.
A Winter Garden resident frustrated by speedy e-bikes endorsed the county plan to rein them in.
“Many of the people in our neighborhood call them ‘unguided missiles.’ They are all over the place,” the resident, Jack Banas, said of e-bikes. “People ask, ‘Well, how am I going to get my kid to school?’ Maybe get him a regular bike, maybe ‘Make America Healthy Again!’ ”
Commissioner Nicole Wilson, who represents west Orange and urged the board last year to take up the issue, said she isn’t interested in banning the use of micro-mobility devices. “I want to make sure that we’re leaving options open for people to get around Orange County in as many ways as possible. We need people out of their cars. There’s too many cars on the road (and) we’re not getting a monorail anytime soon.”
She said she just wants to make their use safer.
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This story was originally published May 19, 2026 at 7:14 PM.