Cade, 11, was cited for failing to register a 4,500-watt electric dirt bike after Oviedo police stopped him on a public road Sept. 7. Officers took his thumbprint because he had no driver's license; he was not booked into jail, and his court date is Sept. 29.
Police records describe a QRonge with pegs instead of pedals, rated at 4,500 watts and capable of 50 mph. The affidavit does not say officers measured Cade at that speed; his father told Fox 35 the family believed the bike was capped at about 20 mph. The citation charged only failure to register; notes about insurance, a motorcycle endorsement and eye protection were not separate charges.
Florida's electric-bicycle definition requires operable pedals and a motor rated below 750 watts, so the bike described in police records did not qualify. The criminal traffic charge concerned using it on a public road without required registration. Cade's father said he accepted that his son may have broken rules but objected to how police handled the stop; he planned to ask prosecutors to dismiss the case.
