Holmes County sets e-bike safety meeting

As e-bikes on Holmes County roadways continue to become more frequent and e-bike travel continues to integrate into everyday life, one issue has come to the forefront, that being more education is needed to provide the best possible safety practices for everyone traveling the county’s byways, whether it is automobiles, truck drivers, e-bike riders or buggies.

In order to bring more discussion on how the county can promote safety on the roadways, Holmes County Emergency Management Director Jason Troyer said the EMA is uniting with numerous key components within Holmes County to begin the process, especially when it comes to dealing with e-bike safety.

The first organizational meeting of the Bike Safety Workgroup is scheduled at 8 a.m. June 16 in the conference room at the Holmes County Health Department on Glen Drive in Millersburg.

“We recognize that many agencies and organizations throughout the county are already conducting bicycle safety education and outreach efforts independently,” Troyer said. “Our goal is to bring stakeholders together to ensure we are all on the same page, identify any gaps in training or resources, and explore opportunities to collaborate and strengthen countywide bike safety initiatives.”

The assembled work group will focus on several components:

—Coordinating bicycle safety education efforts throughout Holmes County.

—Identifying training gaps and community needs.

—Developing consistent messaging and safety recommendations.

—Exploring partnership opportunities and shared resources.

—Expanding outreach efforts to both the Amish population and the general public.

The desire to create a focus group that explores safer travel for everyone in Holmes County comes from a recent uptick in the number of e-bike accidents and fatalities that have occurred within the county.

Throughout his time discussing this issue with community members, Troyer said he has come to realize safety for e-bike travel is an issue that includes creating better awareness for both automobile drivers and those riding e-bikes.

Thus he said it is important to bring together representation from every walk of life within Holmes County to figure out the best way to educate the public.

“As bicycle traffic continues to increase throughout the county, we believe a coordinated approach involving schools, emergency services, law enforcement, transportation partners, Amish health and safety and community organizations will help improve safety for everyone traveling on our roadways,” Troyer said. “We are especially interested in discussing educational strategies for both the Amish community and the general public to promote awareness, safe driving habits and bicycle safety practices.”

Troyer met with the Holmes County Commissioners Monday, May 18 to discuss the details and hopes of the newly created group.

Troyer said one of the main purposes of the group will be to build better awareness for both auto drivers within the county and for visitors.

“We feel this is important information to get out to both the general public and the Amish population,” Troyer said. “I’ve had several phone calls from the Amish population supporting something like this.”

By including representation from many entities, the hope is the group can create a comprehensive educational game plan that can be shared in local media, through social media, in parochial schools and with teens who are becoming new drivers.

Troyer said there are many questions concerning proper laws and etiquette, and there are gaps in identifying training and understanding rules and regulations when it comes to e-bikes, both for bike riders and auto drivers.

He said one of the biggest goals for the group is for everyone to come out of the discussion with a united message and the same information.

Commissioner Dave Hall said this topic is very much akin to when Holmes County took on a leading role in initiating better lighting for buggies on the roadways, something that was put into law three years ago.

However, Hall said as is always the case with lawmakers in the state, these types of laws can take years to get put into place. Thus the need for Holmes County to again be a leader in the state and push education is a priority.

“This is a process to self-educate,” Hall said.

He said while state laws can’t be created at the local level, the one thing that can take place is a push toward promoting education.

“It starts there,” Hall said. “We can’t wait for a dysfunctional system to pass laws; we must do something now. It could be years from now until some type of regulation is put in place. This is very similar to what took place with the buggies, and bringing everyone to the table is an important first step.”

The commissioners agreed with Troyer but noted creating better safety will never eliminate dangers surrounding e-bikes. However, it can help cut back on the number of incidents and make travel safer for everyone.

Commissioner Joe Miller said while creating awareness among those riding e-bikes is a positive step, it goes together with educating drivers and creating more awareness that slowing down and taking precautions are important.

This meeting is an important first step in educating everyone on the local byways of the need to take every precaution to keep people safe.