E-Bikes and Electric Rides in Michigan: What Families Should Know

Before you buy: the three classes

Here is how the statute splits them. Class 1 is pedal assist only, and the motor quits at 20 mph. Class 2 adds a throttle, so the bike can reach 20 mph without pedaling, and the motor cuts off as soon as the brakes go on. Class 3 is pedal assist only again, but the motor keeps helping up to 28 mph.

Section 662a then marks the limits. A motor over 750 watts, or one changed so the bike no longer matches its class, takes the device out of the e-bike category. Michigan added these e-bike provisions through 2017 Public Act 139, in force from January 28, 2018; in the compiled statute we checked, Section 662a had not been amended since.

Before you buy: ages and helmets by class

Because Class 1 and Class 2 riders are treated as cyclists, the state sets neither an age minimum nor a helmet requirement for them. Class 3 gets its own rules. Children under 14 may not drive one, though they may be carried as a passenger on a Class 3 built for two.

Every Class 3 operator or passenger younger than 18 has to wear a bicycle helmet that fits, is buckled, and carries a Consumer Product Safety Commission or ASTM rating. Plenty of parents of 12 and 13 year olds pick a Class 1 for that reason; we would still put a helmet on any rider.

A quick example: a 13 year old can legally ride a Class 1 or Class 2 bike with no helmet under state law, but cannot operate a Class 3 until 14, and even then must wear a helmet until 18.

Once it is home: roads, bike lanes and sidewalks

Wherever a highway is open to bicycles, an e-bike may go too, shoulders and bike lanes included. On sidewalks the cycling statute, MCL 257.660c, governs: people on foot have the right of way, you give an audible warning before you pass them, and where a sign or signal forbids bicycles on a sidewalk or crosswalk, you stay off.

Some places have their own rules. A city that forbids nonemergency motor vehicles keeps e-bikes out too, unless its council votes them in. Mackinac Island State Park asks for a permit from its park commission. And before any local government bans, permits or regulates e-bikes, it has to hold a public hearing.

Once it is home: trails and rail trails

Linear trails with a hard or crushed stone surface (asphalt, limestone and the like) and rail trails are open to Class 1 by default; the agency in charge may still restrict or prohibit them. Throttle bikes (Class 2) and 28 mph bikes (Class 3) need that local or state agency's go-ahead before they can use such trails.

Dirt trails marked nonmotorized are off limits to every class until the managing agency opens them. National trail systems authorized by Congress sit outside these rules and follow federal management, and all trail access has to respect disability rights law.

Paperwork: license, registration and insurance

Since Section 662a treats e-bike riders like cyclists, a bike that fits the definition needs no plate, no registration and no driver's license. Your teen still stops at signals, rides with the flow of traffic and lights up at night.

Michigan does not require insurance on a bicycle. Even so, an e-bike can hurt someone badly. Call whoever writes your home or renter's policy and ask whether e-bikes are covered, because some policies leave out anything with a motor.

A different machine: mopeds

MCL 257.32b describes a moped this way: two or three wheels, an engine no bigger than 100 cc, no gear shifting, and a top speed on flat ground of 30 mph or less. A souped-up or overpowered e-bike can end up in that category, or a higher one.

To ride one you need a regular operator's or chauffeur's license, or a dedicated moped license. A teen of 15 or more with no license can earn the moped license with a parent's consent by passing the eye, written and sign tests at a branch. MCL 257.658 requires a crash helmet for any moped rider younger than 19 on a public road.

A different machine: scooters and electric skateboards

Electric skateboards have rules of their own in the vehicle code. Riders must be 12 or older to use one on a public street or highway, anyone under 19 wears a crash helmet, and only one person rides at a time. Stand-up electric scooters, by contrast, are not given a category of their own in the statutes we read for this page.

Shared rental scooters in Detroit and elsewhere run on city permits and local ordinances, which usually deal with parking, sidewalk riding and minimum age. Check the rental app's terms and the local rules first, and ride a scooter in traffic as carefully as you would a bike.