Children and teenagers riding e-scooters and e-bikes in Prairie Village could soon need to start wearing helmets.
During its council committee meeting last week, the Prairie Village City Council agreed to formally consider an ordinance requiring people aged 17 and younger to wear helmets while riding e-scooters. The city council amended the drafted ordinance to include e-bikes.
Police Chief Eric McCullough told the city council that e-scooter safety has become top of mind, with groups of children and adolescents frequently seen riding the devices around busy areas like Corinth Square and The Shops retail complex, oftentimes while not wearing helmets.
“I think we’ve all still seen unsafe acts on scooters, and we want to do a little more to address the concern,” McCullough said.
A look at the ordinance
- McCullough said e-scooters — which are defined as a wheeled device powered by a gas or electric motor with a scooter or skateboard-like deck and handlebars — can reach speeds of 25 mph or higher.
- There is no ordinance requiring helmet use on regular scooters or regular bicycles, he said.
- State statutes address motorized bicycles and other devices, but there is a gap when it comes to e-scooters, he said. Unlike motorized bicycles, e-bikes still require some human power, McCullough said.
- The ordinance would require minors to wear helmets on e-scooters and e-bikes, even if they are a non-operator of the device.
- Under the ordinance, police officers would give warnings on the first offense, but subsequent violations could result in a $50 fine, which would be assessed to minors’ parents or guardians, according to city documents.
The police department is still focused on education
- In response to questions from Councilmember Dave Robinson about whether parents might support this ordinance, McCullough stressed that the police department wants to educate the community more than anything.
- McCullough said the police department has pushed e-scooter safety through the Drug Abuse Resistance Education, or D.A.R.E., program, through school resource officers, social media pages, the city’s newsletter Village Voice and more.
- Still, he said he couldn’t point to a “notable increase in safe scooter use” since starting the education efforts.
- McCullough also told the city council that he is concerned about overregulation when it comes to e-scooters and is hesitant to take the ordinance beyond helmets.
- “We don’t want to create conflict with kids,” McCullough said. “We really want this to be awareness generating, driven towards education, but I do think it’s important that kids are safe when they’re out riding scooters.”
Next steps:
- The city council will formally consider the ordinance requiring children to wear helmets on e-scooters and e-bikes at a future city council meeting.
- The city council meets at 6 p.m. on the first and third Monday of each month at City Hall, 7700 Mission Rd.
Go deeper: Watch the city council’s discussion online here starting at 2:40:29.
