Cape Coral sees rise in e-bike and e-motorcycle incidents

CAPE CORAL, Fla. —

The growing popularity of e-bikes and e-motorcycles in Cape Coral is raising safety concerns for riders, pedestrians and drivers.

Arsenio Godinho, owner of Paradise Bicycles, has been passionate about bikes since his teenage years in Boston.

"I said, 'Hey, let's find a job at a local bike shop,'" Godinho said. "And I just continually fell more and more in love with the industry and mountain biking in general, which has led me to do this for over 25 years of my life."

Florida law categorizes e-bikes and e-motorcycles differently. E-bikes are similar to regular bicycles, while e-motorcycles, which can reach speeds of 28 mph or higher, require a license to operate legally.

"An e-bicycle is basically identical to a regular bicycle," Godinho said.

Mercedes Simonds, Public Affairs Officer for the Cape Coral Police Department, explained the legal requirements for e-motorcycles: "So, for an e-motorcycle, because it's something that needs to be registered for the road, it has to stay on the road. It's the same idea as a car at that point. So, you can't take a car on the sidewalk, just like you can't take an electric motorcycle on the sidewalk."

In Cape Coral, e-bike riders must adhere to a maximum sidewalk speed of 10 mph, and exceeding this limit requires riding on the road. Godinho noted that parents might not be aware that e-bikes are not traditional bicycles.

"They're the furthest thing from bicycles. They're essentially electric motorcycles, which are naturally out of the box pretty fast," Godinho said.

Cape Coral police have reported a surge in incidents involving e-bikes and e-motorcycles, particularly among teens.

"Especially with juveniles. Right now, we're seeing a lot of issues related to whether it be regular bicycles, e-bicycles, e-motorcycles. We're having issues with behavior in general. It's not necessarily the bike or the bike type itself; it's the behavior. It's riding in front of cars, doing dangerous stunt-like behavior in front of cars, riding on the sidewalk, sit at a very unsafe speed," a police representative said.

Finding data on e-bikes and e-motorcycles is challenging, as the state categorizes them into two groups. In 2025, FDOT reported 658 bicycle crashes with 15 deaths and 519 motorcycle crashes resulting in 43 deaths across six counties. As e-bike popularity rises, so does the risk, prompting experts to remind riders to stay aware and wear helmets.

Despite the challenges, Godinho sees the benefits of e-bikes.

"It's just a community aspect that I really, really enjoy. And again, there are a lot of people who want to join those communities," Godinho said. "But without the e-bikes, they aren't able to ride 5, 6, 10 miles at all. So, they don't do anything. They sit in the house, become, you know, couch potatoes, as we say. Now, they can join the community, they can get outdoors, they can enjoy the beautiful sunshine of, you know, Florida."

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