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a Class II or Class IV bikeway, or on sidewalks; §21235 lets cities relax the roadway <br />restriction to 35 mph. Motorized scooters are subject at all times to a speed limit of 15 mph <br />(§22411). <br />EPAMDs: Operators are considered pedestrians (§467). These devices are regulated in <br />Chapter 1, Article 6. §21281.5 requires operating at a safe speed that does not endanger the <br />safety of persons or property. §21282 permits local authorities to regulate the time, place, and <br />manner of their operation, including limiting, prohibiting entirely in the local jurisdiction, or <br />prohibiting use in specified areas as determined to be appropriate by local entities. <br />Electrically motorized boards: Continuing in the same sequence, electrically motorized boards <br />are regulated in Chapter 1, Article 7. The rules of the road for electrically motorized boards <br />are unclear; they appear to fall under the definition of "vehicle" in §670 and would therefore <br />be subject to vehicular regulations, though their own definition in §313.5 does not use that <br />word. Article 7 also refers to operating upon a highway. In any case, operators must be 16 or <br />older and must wear helmets. They are restricted to roads with a speed limit of 35 mph or less, <br />unless operated within a Class II or Class IV bikeway, and must themselves not exceed 15 <br />mph. §21967 permits local authorities to prohibit or restrict electrically motorized boards on <br />highways, sidewalks, or roadways. <br />Low-speed vehicles (NEVs): See Chapter 1, Article 5.5. Low-speed vehicles are subject to the <br />provisions applicable to motor vehicles. With certain exceptions, they're limited to roads with <br />a speed limit of 35 mph or less. §21266 lets local authorities restrict or prohibit their use. <br />These provisions delineate the full extent of local authority to regulate these types of devices <br />on highways and other named locations. <br />Validity of the Ordinance <br />In several places, the ordinance exceeds the relevant powers of local authorities that are cited <br />above, and in others it attempts to regulate disparate classes of devices in a uniform way, <br />whereas its authority to do so varies. In particular, the provisions of Sec. 8.4, Equipment and <br />Restrictions (including, for the most part, its age limits for operators and speed limits for <br />devices, which seem to be among the ordinance's principal objectives); Sec. 8.6, Racing; and <br />Sec. 8.7, Trick Riding, have been preempted by state law, which confers no authority for local <br />regulation of this type, even if it merely restates the Vehicle Code. (Note that I'm not <br />commenting on the merits of these provisions, only their validity.) The prohibition of Class 3 <br />e-bikes from Class 4 bikeways (cycle tracks) in Sec 8.3E is also doubtful, since a cycle track is <br />not an "equestrian trail, or hiking or recreational trail." <br />Section 8.9, Penalties for Violation, is also preempted, since §40000.1 of the Vehicle Code <br />establishes that it constitutes an infraction for any person to violate any local ordinance <br />adopted pursuant to this code. §42001 specifies maximum fines for infractions (to which may <br />be added penalty assessments and surcharges). But note this important provision of §42001(d): <br />[A] local public entity that employs peace officers . . . may, by ordinance or <br />resolution, establish a schedule of fines applicable to infractions committed by <br />bicyclists within its jurisdiction. . . . If a bicycle fine schedule is adopted, it shall <br />be used by the courts having jurisdiction over the area within which the ordinance <br />or resolution is applicable instead of the fines, including penalty assessments and <br />court costs, otherwise applicable under this code.