CLAY COUNTY – Groups of teens huddled, most with their electric scooters and bikes piled in a heap, at the makeshift memorial where 14-year-old Carson Farias was struck and killed while riding his e-bike on Sandridge Road on Thursday night, June 11. 

In Tallahassee, lawmakers continued to wrestle to create laws to better define how and where electronic mobile devices can be used. 

And law enforcement agencies throughout Clay County said the use of e-bikes and e-scooters have become a major concern, especially since they’re being used primarily by youngsters who don’t understand or appreciate traffic laws. 

“They've presented a challenge for pretty much the state in general over the last couple of years,” said Clay County Sheriff’s Office Chief Jeremy Clark. 

Some bikes and scooters are too fast to be intertwined with pedestrians on sidewalks, and most are too slow to be in traffic lanes on roadways. Many users don’t wear helmets, and many are distracted by cellphones, headphones or ear buds. 

Since many aren’t old enough to drive, they aren’t aware of traffic laws, so they don’t respect right-of-way rules at intersections, parking lots or nighttime use. The combination of ignorance, speed and misuse too often proves to be catastrophic or deadly. 

“We do have an issue with some of these e-bikes, especially since some of these riders aren’t wearing helmets,” said Green Cove Springs Police Department Public Information Officer Josh Lee, “and a lot of this falls back on the parents.” 

There were three children treated for injuries related to e-bikes and e-scooters in 2022, according to Wolfson Children’s Hospital in Northeast Florida. Those numbers grew to 23 in 2023, 74 in 2024 and 115 in 2025. In the first month of this year, the hospital had already seen 19. 

The accident on Sandridge apparently happened after Farias’ e-bike ran out of power in the westbound lane shortly before 11 p.m. He was struck from behind by a car driven by a 16-year-old boy on the unlit section of the roadway. Farias’s bike didn’t have lights, and he wasn’t wearing a helmet. 

The boy was the second from Lake Asbury Junior High to die from an electronic mobility device in four years. Another 14-year-old died when he fell from his e-skateboard and struck his head on the pavement on July 30, 2022, in the Asbury Plantation. He also wasn’t wearing a helmet. 

To address the growing concerns, the Florida Senate passed Bill 382 (also known as House Bill 243) that focuses on pedestrian safety in shared spaces. The law goes into effect on July 1. 

The key regulation is that it limits speeds to 10 mph for e-bikes and e-scooters on sidewalks and mandatory yield, audible signals when passing on shared-use paths. It also provides new crash tracking protocols. Until July 1, statistics collected combined e-bikes and bicycles into the same category. After July 1, they will be separated. 

The Florida Highway Patrol, Green Cove Springs and Orange Park police departments and Clay County Sheriff’s Office said while they’ve been busy dealing with legal uses of golf carts on roadways, the addition of e-bikes and e-scooters only exasperates their difficult responsibilities. 

What makes it even more difficult are parents who either don’t know the laws, or who don’t seem to care. 

“If you are a parent of a child who rides an e-bike, it is important to know where your child is riding it,” said OPPD Chief Cody Monroe. “Make sure they know all the traffic and safety rules and follow them. Consider joining them on their first rides to see how they do and to ensure they are making good, safe decisions.” 

Lee said the GCSPD will “hammer down” on existing laws. Like: 

• All riders younger than 16 MUST wear a helmet while on a bicycle, e-bike, e-scooter or e-skateboard. 

• The use of cellphones, headphones and earbuds is PROHIBITED while on a bicycle, e-bike, e-scooter or e-skateboard. 

• E-bikes and e-scooters are considered bicycles; therefore, they must follow the same rules set by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. 

• Pedal-driven e-bikes aren’t allowed on sidewalks unless they utilize the pedals. 

• E-bikes, not e-scooters, are allowed on roadways, as long as they don’t exceed 28 mph. If they exceed 28 mph, they must have a license tag, and the operator must have a driver’s license. 

“Some people wear helmets, some don't,” Clark said. “Some are in the roads and on the sidewalks. It's real confusing. It's become a real mess. Existing traffic law provides guidelines. Riders that are 15 years of age are required to have a helmet, just like on a bicycle. But as you know, that may or may not be universally accepted.” 

Clark said CCSO regularly posts safety videos, and the agency will host bike safety rodeos before the first day of classes to stress bicycle – regular, e-bike and e-scooter – safety. 

“It really comes back to kind of a concerted effort from the community, but the parents as well, about educating their kids,” he said. “Then, of course, we have enforcement as a tool. But we try to start with education before we get too hard on enforcement.”