Listen to this article
Estimated 3 minutes
The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.
Vancouver police say they’ve handed out more than 200 tickets and over 1,000 warnings as a part of a blitz targeting unsafe e-scooter riders.
Police launched the month-long campaign on Sept. 4, in a bid to better educate the public about the regulations governing electric scooters.
The blitz, timed with the start of the school year, follows a summer in which the city recorded both a death and a serious injury involving e-scooters.
“It’s lack of awareness and lack of the safety rules, and so that’s our focus for this initiative is we really wanted to get the word out,” said Insp. Stephanie Willoughby.
“That’s why our ticket issuing is quite low and are more of a public positive, proactive contact with that rider to ensure that they do get to their destination safely.”
WATCH | Vancouver police hand out hundreds of tickets and warnings to e-scooter riders:
E-scooter riders given 1,275 tickets, warnings in Vancouver enforcement blitz
The number one reason police stopped riders, (920 warnings and 167 tickets) was due to riding without a helmet. The second most common reason (155 warnings and 22 tickets) was for riding on the sidewalk, while the remainder of stops were for riding double on a scooter, or using one under the age of 16.
Other regulations police stressed include having front and rear lights between sunset and sunrise, keeping to a 25 km/hr speed limit, and sticking to bike lanes or the far right portion of roads.
E-scooters are not permitted on streets with speed limits above 50 km/hr.
Haakon Koyote, a volunteer with the road safety group Vision Zero, said cracking down on e-scooters misses the mark when it comes to preventing serious injuries and death.
He said police would be better served boosting enforcement against at speeding drivers.
WATCH | Doctor warns against letting youth ride e-scooters:
Doctor says kids 16 and under shouldn’t ride e-bikes, e-scooters
“What they put in their press release misses the giant truck in the room essentially, which is drivers and vehicles, and those are what consistently cause death and serious injuries in the road,” he said.
“We’ve seen 41 people killed by vehicles in the last four years. That’s 10 people every year.”
Haackon added that a major challenge around e-scooters is that they are new on the streets, and aren’t being allocated the space they need to be operated safely.
He called for more safe, separated infrastructure for people using scooters and other micro-mobility devices.
The police e-scooter blitz wraps up on Sunday.