E-scooters or e-bikes: whether you love them or you hate them, it is hard to avoid them these days on Lower Mainland streets.
If you do choose to ride one, the Burnaby RCMP has a message for you.
“You need to be 16, the e-scooter can’t go over 25 km/h, you need to be wearing a helmet, you can’t wear ear buds, and you can’t double up,” said Cpl. Mike Kalanj.
During a targeted enforcement campaign for e-scooters and e-bikes on Wednesday, Mounties issued 57 violation tickets.
One teen racked up three infractions.
“He was 15, so he was underage, he was riding on a sidewalk, and he also wasn’t wearing a helmet, so we called his mom,” Kalanj said.
“His mom took the scooter home.”
This is a concerning pattern seen across the region. In fact, while interviewing the police officer, CityNews spotted a man riding an e-scooter on the sidewalk, not wearing a helmet.
“People aren’t getting the message, and not just in Burnaby,” Kalanj said. “The whole Lower Mainland, we have been talking for months now.”
“Strictly educating is not working at this point, because it’s getting worse.”
Meanwhile, ProMechBC — an e-scooter repair shop in Vancouver — says some injuries could be attributed to preventable mechanical risks.
“If your brakes aren’t maintained, they’re going to fail, and you aren’t going to stop,” said manager Amir Sadrarhami.
“If your tires aren’t maintained, you’ll slip more easily, and you’ll have an exploding tire more easily.”
Despite this, he doesn’t think e-scooters should be taken away, but riders need to be more responsible.
“These things are fun and good forms of transportation, but kids are just getting on them, and they’re not aware of the rules and dangers,” he said.
“They just need to be educated.”
With back-to-school just around the corner, police are asking parents to think twice before buying these machines for their young children.
“There is nowhere on school property that e-scooters are able to be ridden,” Kalanj said.
“I know parenting is hard, and saying no is hard, but this is the best ‘hard no’ to give your kid, to save their lives potentially.”
