A small city just west of Orlando has become the latest in Central Florida to adopt new rules for personal electric bicycles and e-scooters in an effort to improve roadway safety, protect public infrastructure, and address rising accidents related to micromobility devices.
The Ocoee City Commission, made up of four city commissioners and the mayor, unanimously approved the new rules Tuesday during a second reading of the city ordinance, with commissioner Richard Firstner absent.
The ordinance, first approved through an initial reading in June, includes a 10 mile-per-hour speed limit for micromobility devices on sidewalks — or within 50 feet of pedestrians — and requires riders to travel in the same way as vehicular traffic when using the device on a street.
The ordinance also forbids riders from “stunt riding,” performing wheelies, or from engaging in racing behavior on public property, including sidewalks, streets, parks, and public parking lots.
The added rules for Ocoee come shortly after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis rejected a bipartisan effort by Florida lawmakers to strengthen regulation of micromobility devices statewide, citing concern over “enhanced surveillance by local governments against citizens.”
The Florida Legislature, controlled by a GOP supermajority, passed the statewide regulatory proposal (SB 382) earlier this year with rare unanimous approval during the 2026 state legislative session. It would have similarly established a 10 mph speed limit within 50 feet of pedestrians and created a state micromobility safety task force.
“This has been a huge uptick in the number of instances of individuals riding micromobility devices on the roadways, right-of-way and in the parks in Ocoee,” said Ocoee Police Chief Vincent Ogburn, speaking to Ocoee city commissioners Tuesday evening.
“Some of the operators are wearing the required safety equipment, and some are not,” he added. “Since October, we’ve had 16 incidents involving some type of cycle. We’ve identified eight of them having involved micromobility devices, meaning they’re e-scooter or e-bikes.”
Florida law, currently, has no minimum age requirement for riding e-bikes and e-scooters, even if riders are traveling on public roadways. State law also doesn’t require riders to have a vehicular license or have insurance for their electric micromobility devices. Helmets, too, are only required by law for riders under 16. For older teenagers and adults, they’re highly recommended, but optional.
Several cities across Central Florida, including Satellite Beach, Palm Coast, Winter Garden and Cocoa Beach have already passed local e-bike regulations, in lieu of stronger regulations from the state. Orange County, which includes the city of Ocoee, is also weighing potential micromobility regulation.
“I would be willing to bet that every parent has sat down with their child more than once and reminded them, ‘Wear your helmet,’ ‘Use the crosswalk,’ ‘Stay on the sidewalk,’ ‘Pay attention to cars’ and ‘Look both ways,’” local resident Ashley LaChance told Orange County commissioners in May. “I know I did. I constantly reminded Colton to be safe.”
LaChance’s 13-year-old son, Colton, died of his injuries after colliding with a pick-up truck on an electric scooter on Mother’s Day. The young teen was reportedly picking up flowers for his mother for the holiday. He was riding the scooter without a helmet.
“What makes this especially concerning is that these are motorized vehicles capable of reaching speeds just as fast or even faster than the speed limits on some roadways. That changes the level of responsibility and danger entirely,” LaChance added.
“That is why I believe schools should seriously consider implementing some form of driver-style education course or certification requirement for e-scooters and e-bikes — not because parents are failing, but because every additional layer of education matters.”
Regulations on school campuses
Much of the concern around electric bicycle and scooter accidents in recent years have focused on the largely unregulated use of these devices in Florida by young people — who are too young to legally drive a motor vehicle — and associated dangers of use.
Some of these devices can be manufactured or hacked to go upward of 30 to 40 mph.
According to Orange County staff, the majority — 54 percent — of emergency department visits in the county related to e-bike and e-scooter accidents last year involved riders under age 19. Nearly 40 percent of ED visits occurred among riders under 15.
“Micromobility devices provide a low-cost transportation option that supports local business activity, while reducing public and individual transportation expenses,” said Lauren Torres, senior program manager for Orange County’s transportation planning division. “But this rapid growth in this type of device is also leading to an increase in crashes and trauma-related injuries.”
“Law enforcement is actively addressing unsafe behavior,” she added, “but they have limited tools, staffing and a lack of clear local standards.”
Orange County commissioners plan to revisit the issue of adopting countywide regulation in the coming months. Meanwhile, the Orange County school board this week also mulled the idea of fully banning micromobility devices on public school campuses during a work session on the issue.
Several school board members, including members Melissa Byrd, Alicia Farrant and Vicki-Elaine Felder, expressed support for a full ban. But some were a little more hesitant. “I’m always going to have an issue with any type of ban,” said board member Angie Gallo, who’s running this year for school board chair. “For me, that will always in my brain sound like government overreach.”
“I absolutely want our kids to be safe,” she said, adding that she would support a ban on micromobility devices in elementary and middle schools. “We have to work hand in hand with the counties and the municipalities to try to find a real good solution,” she argued. “Because I don’t think just banning them off of our campuses is going to fix the problem.”
It wouldn’t be unprecedented. A school district in Southern California and a school district on Long Island in New York issued bans earlier this year, citing accidents among young people.
Closer to home, the St. Johns County school district in Central Florida and Martin County school district on the Treasure Coast have also prohibited riding the devices on school campuses, but allow students to walk their devices to a storage location, according to an OCPS presentation.
The school board ultimately reached a consensus on a potential ban for school campuses serving students grades K-8 and to “limit usage at the high school level for those who have a driver’s license,” according to an OCPS news release.
The board will again take up its regulatory proposal at a July 21 work session and take a vote on it during the July 28 school board meeting.
