DELTONA, Fla. – Just days after banning riders under 18 from e-bikes and e-scooters, city commissioners voted unanimously on Monday to suspend the age restriction.
The 7-0 vote came after Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said his office would not enforce the city’s ordinance and questioned whether it would hold up in court.
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“This is right now, as it sits on its face, unenforceable,” Chitwood said.
Chitwood had previously raised concerns about applying the ban to teens who already hold a learner’s permit or driver’s license. He said deputies would follow state motor vehicle code rather than the city’s rule.
“From my perspective, what am I going to do? Put a roadblock up outside of a school — ‘how old are you? Let me check your thing, OK, you’re good to go,’” Chitwood said.
Every commissioner agreed it made little sense to keep the age restriction in place if law enforcement would not enforce it. One commissioner put the question plainly before the vote.
“If we could possibly get with the sheriff and find out what they will actually enforce for us versus what not — because if not, we might as well just fall back to the state statutes and not create ordinances,” the commissioner said.
The age restriction is now suspended, but a 15 mph speed limit for e-bikes and scooters remains in effect.
Commissioners said they plan to revisit the ordinance at a workshop in September.