CLARKSTON — Clarkston Community Schools has banned electric motorcycles on school property after about 12 middle and junior high students rode them to campus during the first week back.
Sarah Krebs-Qureshi, safety director for Clarkston Community Schools, said the district moved quickly once the issue surfaced.
"We realized we had to get a safety plan in place right away," Krebs-Qureshi said.
Krebs-Qureshi, a retired law enforcement officer, said e-motorcycles are classified as motor vehicles in Michigan — making them subject to different rules than standard electric bikes.
"These are not for kids, they're really for licensed drivers," Krebs-Qureshi said.
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The district is asking parents to keep e-motorcycles at home. If one is found on school property, staff will contact parents. A second offense could result in the vehicle being impounded.
"We don't want any accidents, so we're going to ask parents they keep them at home," Krebs-Qureshi said. "So if we do find them on school property, we are contacting parents first. But if this is a second offense, you could get your E Moto impounded."
Krebs-Qureshi said the district is not taking the same approach with electric bikes, which are a different class of vehicle.
"We're not going to take the same stance as an e bike that we're taking on an E Moto. They are not the same, they don't look the same," Krebs-Qureshi said.
A flyer from the Oakland County Sheriff's Office outlines the distinction between the two. Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said e-motorcycles are not street-legal to begin with.
"The fact of the matter is a moto, a motocross capable in terms of speed and torque is not legal on the street. So riding it to school by its very essence is illegal," Bouchard said.
Electric bikes equipped with pedals and a maximum speed of 28 miles per hour are legal on Michigan roads.
Clarkston parent Jeff Mylenek said his teenage son safely rides an e-motorcycle around their neighborhood, but he acknowledged the area lacks the infrastructure to support any kind of bike commuting to school.
"We don't really have the infrastructure in Clarkston for bikes. We don't have bike lanes, we don't really have, for example, at our school here, we don't have a stoplight for kids to cross safely," Mylenek said.
Mylenek said the broader conversation should focus on integration rather than outright bans.
"They're growing in popularity and I think that trend is going to continue to go up, and I think if we're going to address it, it might be better to address how we're going to integrate these bikes into our communities rather than just saying ya know lets just put an end to them," Mylenek said.
Donny Eagle, a Clarkston middle school student, said the ban makes sense to him.
"My dad's been talking to me, he's been on the road. He's seen them acting up, doing stuff they shouldn't be doing. I've seen it myself just by riding around on my e bike, so honestly, I think it's pretty reasonable they did that," Eagle said.
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