‘We want this program to stay’: Kamloops to ramp up e-scooter safety messaging

“What happened [to Hunter] was a tragic incident and our thoughts and prayers are with the family.”

While its not clear when that review will take place, Akuetteh said you can expect to see more messaging from the city around e-scooter safety – in part, but not entirely because of that fatal crash.

“Things like where you can ride, what you should be doing on it, what you can or cannot be doing on it,” Akuetteh said. “At the beginning of the program there was a lot of messaging pushed out, but we do need to remind riders how to safely operate this and we also want this program to stay.”

You need to be at least 16-years-old to ride, it’s one person to a scooter and helmets are mandatory. And just like with cars and motorcycles, you could get a ticket if you get caught breaking the rules.

“As with any safety feature on any devices, the onus ends up being on the rider,” Akuetteh said. “But we are working with Bird Canada around helmet use or other safety features to help reduce the number of incidents.”

Head and brain injuries as well as fractures and concussions are among the most common e-scooter injuries reported across the country. It’s often because no helmets were used, people were riding too fast, or they were intoxicated at the time.

“I like to say that these scooters are not a toy,” Dr. Silvina Mema, Interior Health’s deputy chief medical health officer, said. “If you fall, you can hurt yourself.”

Mema said e-scooter injuries, like other injuries involving bikes and skateboards, are not unexpected, but she noted there are ways to protect yourself.

“Some of [the injuries] will be serious and it’s unfortunate,” Mema added. “Our role is to try and help make sure that the public makes informed decisions because these modes of transportation are widespread. If you look across B.C., or across Canada and across the world, these are here to stay.”

Enforcement and educational campaigns are an option, as was recently done in Burnaby, so people know the rules and how to ride safely. Kamloops RCMP told CFJC Today it will have more to say about enforcement measures locally in the near future.

“Provincial regulations allow for enforcement, but I cannot speak to operations that the RCMP may take in the future,” Akuetteh said. “But I can imagine they will take some initiative when the need arises.”

Officials also concede that given the surge in e-scooter popularity, making sure everyone follows the rules can be difficult. However, Akuetteh said they’re willing to adapt and make changes to the rental program where needed.

“There are [people] that love it in the community and there are those that may not necessarily love it,” he said. “We are also planning on taking feedback from the community as the season ends to know what opportunities are there to improve the program.”

“When we launched the rentals, there were people looking out for the safety messaging but now but might have been forgotten, so we want to put this information out periodically to remind people about the safe ways to ride these e-scooters.”

by Victor Kaisar

‘We want this program to stay’: Kamloops to ramp up e-scooter safety messaging

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