HaRav Yaakov Bender, the longtime Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshiva Darchei Torah and one of the most influential voices in chinuch in the United States, has issued a blistering warning to parents regarding the growing danger of electric bikes and scooters, saying that allowing children to use them is “akin to giving a gun to a child.”
In a sharply worded letter to parents, HaRav Bender expressed frustration that despite repeated tragedies and warnings, some parents continue to allow their children to ride electric bikes and scooters to yeshiva.
“I am at my wits’ end that there are still parents who allow their children to bring electric bikes and scooters to the Yeshiva,” he wrote.
The Rosh Yeshiva pointed to the recent fatal collision on the Queensboro Bridge in which two e-bike riders lost their lives, as well as other deadly incidents involving children riding scooters in Jewish communities.
“Jewish children on scooters have been killed in other communities. Other children have been maimed,” he wrote.
HaRav Bender placed responsibility squarely on parents who permit their children to use the vehicles, calling it “pure negligence on the part of the parents.”
“I believe in making children happy—but allowing a child to ride an electric bike or scooter is akin to giving a gun to a child,” he stated.
In an extraordinary step, HaRav Bender revealed that he has personally confiscated numerous electric bikes and scooters brought by students to yeshiva. According to the letter, some children have been leaving the vehicles in nearby backyards rather than bringing them onto campus in an attempt to evade school rules.
“In my office, I now have a collection of electric bikes and scooters that were ridden to Yeshiva and then placed in backyards of homes down the street,” he wrote.
The vehicles are being kept under lock and key, he explained, to prevent students from retrieving them and continuing to ride them.
Acknowledging the intense pressure many parents face from children seeking the increasingly popular vehicles, HaRav Bender nevertheless urged parents not to give in.
“I understand that every single child asks for these toys, but parents who give in are ignoring the (chas v’shalom) consequences,” he warned.
(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
