- Aurora Police arrested one rider after a group of dirt bikes and ATVs fled.
- Department’s social media post lumped e-bikes in with off-road motorcycles.
- Colorado law defines legal e-bikes very differently from the machines in the video.
Nationwide, a trend is starting to take off in all the wrong ways. Citizens are hopping onto dirt bikes, ATVs, and electric motorcycles and treating roads like their personal motocross track. Over the weekend, the trend made its way to Colorado, where police moved in, lost most of the participants, and managed to arrest one. The department also happened to lump e-bike riders in with this group of scofflaws.
According to Aurora PD, officers spotted a group riding dirt bikes, four-wheelers, and what the department described as “e-bikes” along East Colfax. Police said the riders were popping wheelies, weaving through traffic, and ignoring traffic signals before fleeing from officers. With help from city cameras, officers tracked the group to a gas station, where most of the riders escaped. One did not.
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Police arrested 30-year-old Noel Loya Payan, who now faces charges including careless driving, obstruction, weaving, failure to obey traffic signals, and operating an off-highway vehicle on a public road. Aurora PD also said Payan had an outstanding warrant from Northglenn.
Reckless riding on public roads is, obviously, illegal, and Colorado law already prohibits dirt bikes, ATVs, and other off-highway vehicles from being used on city streets.
That said, the police lumping e-bikes into the conversation drew the ire of locals. “THOSE ARE NOT E-BIKES,” said one. “Not one e-bike in that video,” said another. One went as far as to directly call out the department saying “none of those in the video are legally classified as e-bikes. You need to recognize that.”
The department, to its credit, responded directly saying “Thanks for your concern. E-bikes are still a major issue for this kind of behavior and driving manner. So, including them in this post for educational purposes we felt was the right move.”
It’s easy to see the distinction and why each side has a point. From a lawful standpoint, lumping legal e-bikes into the discussion when none are present is how New Jerseyans now have to have insurance and DOT-approved motorcycle helmets for ebikes, even if all they’re doing is riding down a greenway trail.
Hopefully, Colorado lawmakers and enforcement can parse the difference while keeping people who break the law off of the roads.
