An 11-year-old Florida boy’s trip to go fishing took an unexpected turn when police stopped him on his electric dirt bike, fingerprinted him and had his bike — that he spent the summer saving up from sales of his handmade squirrel tables to buy — towed.
Cade Kirchner, a sixth grader from Oviedo, Florida, was riding 50 miles per hour toward a pond near his home on Labor Day, September 7, when an officer pulled him over.
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His father, Chris Kirchner, told local media outlet News 6 that Cade was only about 300 feet from his house and riding along the shoulder of the road with his fishing pole in tow. Cade had worked throughout the summer, saving approximately $900 to purchase the electric dirt bike himself.
A kid’s e-bike or an unregistered motorcycle?
Chris told local media that the family believed the bike their son purchased for himself was simply an e-bike capped at about 20 mph. But according to the City of Oviedo, the 4,500-watt electric motorcycle without pedals did not legally qualify as an electric bicycle under Florida law.
Under Florida Statute 316.03, qualifying electric bicycles must have fully operable pedals and an electric motor rated below 750 watts. Because Cade’s vehicle did not meet that definition, officials said it was considered a motorcycle and therefore subject to requirements including registration and other motorcycle regulations…