Do not allow children under 12 years old to ride bicycles on public roads, or under 16 to ride electric bicycles: parents bear civil liability for damages and contributory fault in collisions

Chinese traffic regulations mandate that riders must be at least 12 years old to operate bicycles on public roads, and at least 16 years old to operate electric bicycles. In a court case where a 14-year-old child unlocked a shared e-bike using their mother's mobile account and caused a collision resulting in grade-10 disability, courts ordered the parents to pay approximately 187,000 RMB in civil damages. Furthermore, if an underage child is struck by another vehicle, courts routinely rule that riding underage constitutes contributory negligence, reducing the compensation parents can recover.

Free; requires arranging alternative school commutes (public transit, walking, or parental accompaniment). The challenge is resisting peer pressure when classmates ride independently.

Article 72 of the Regulations for the Implementation of the Road Traffic Safety Law specifies that operating bicycles or tricycles on public roadways requires reaching at least 12 years of age, while operating electric bicycles or motorized wheelchairs for disabled persons requires reaching at least 16 years of age. Under Article 1188 of the Civil Code, when a minor causes tortious harm to others, legal guardians assume tort liability. In a ruling by the Lianjiang County People's Court in Fujian (2022), a 14-year-old child used his mother's app account to unlock a dockless shared electric bicycle and struck a pedestrian, resulting in grade-10 disability; because the platform terms of service strictly restrict ridership to individuals aged 16 and older, the commercial insurer and sharing company were exempted from liability, and the child's parents were ordered to pay 187,017 RMB in personal damages. In Beijing, a judicial review highlighted a case where a 10-year-old cyclist was struck by an electric bicycle; even though the traffic police assigned primary collision fault to the e-bike driver, the civil court applied Article 1173 of the Civil Code (comparative fault), assigning contributory liability to the parents for failing to prevent an underage child from cycling on public roads and reducing their financial award. In a trauma registry study of 337 pediatric traffic injuries, pediatric e-bike riders suffered traumatic brain injury in 13% of cases (compared to 3% for standard cyclists), with severe injury odds 2.56 times higher (OR 2.56; 95% CI 1.10–5.88).

Never allow children to use adult mobile credentials to scan shared electric bikes. Once children reach statutory cycling ages, ensure they wear safety helmets (see Chapter 1, Rule 2 and Chapter 22, Rule 12).

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