Police in Washington County, Pennsylvania have charged the parents of a juvenile who crashed a dirt bike. According to the police, the dirt bike wasn’t street legal.
The parents have been charged with endangering the welfare of children and were cited for 10 motor vehicle licensing and moving violations. Police departments across the state have been informing the public of the dangers of electric bikes and ATVs. The social media posts and press releases have specifically mentioned that parents could be cited for allowing their children to operate vehicles without a license.
Bickerton Law Blog Lawyer’s Take:
”Ebikes have been getting a fair amount of attention on social media and the news, so it’s not surprising to see a case like this. What caught my attention is this line: ‘Under Pennsylvania law, parents can face charges if they knowingly allow a child to engage in dangerous or illegal behavior.’ This is a bit confusing and should be explained a bit further.
In Pennsylvania, parents usually can’t be held responsible for their children’s crimes and traffic tickets unless they were actually accomplices. There’s an important exception in the motor vehicle code. Section 3503 of the motor vehicle code says that parents can’t allow their children to violate the part of the motor vehicle code that deals with pedalcycles.*
Looking at the single criminal charge, it’s endangering the welfare of children. This is usually charged when a parent is accused of putting a child in danger either by doing something dangerous or by not adequately supervising their child to the point that the child could or did get hurt.”—Lea Bickerton
*A pedalcycle is considered to be any vehicle that is propelled by pedals, even when there is an electric system helping with the propulsion.
