Violators of Prairie Village’s e-bike and e-scooter ordinance are now more likely to get a citation instead of just a warning.

After more than a year of educating the community about new restrictions on e-bikes and e-scooters, the Prairie Village Police Department now plans to move “to a more aggressive enforcement, including citations,” according to an Oct. 1 city email.

Kids riding e-bikes and e-scooters — and even faster-moving e-motorcycles that require a driver’s license — have become an increasingly prominent trend across Johnson County. And safety concerns have grown alongside that, especially as parents of kids struck by cars have spoken up, urging for more safety.

A year ago this month, 10-year-old Duke Ommert of Leawood died from injuries sustained while riding a scooter, while wearing a helmet. Earlier this school year, a 13-year-old boy got hit riding an e-scooter to school (he survived and recovered at home).

Over the past several months, micro-mobility restrictions in Johnson County have increased; for instance, the city of Overland Park has banned kids from riding e-bikes that can go past 25 miles per hour. Ommert’s parents have also called for statewide rules. And in Prairie Village, the city council adopted new restrictions for the e-devices in the name of safety.

In Prairie Village, police enforcement of those restrictions is increasing, starting in spring 2025 with requirements for minors to wear helmets and limits on how many riders can be on a single device.

Despite these efforts, which up until now have been enforced through education, the Prairie Village community has become increasingly worried about kids on micro-mobility devices.

This year alone, the police department reports 140 e-mobility complaints as of Oct. 5, Capt. Josh Putthoff told the Post in a Monday email. The police department has also issued 11 citations and 32 warnings this year, Putthoff added, with a handful of accidents involving e-mobility devices.

“We have had 4 accidents this year involving e-mobility devices,” Putthoff told the Post. “Three of them resulted in minor injuries to the juvenile rider.”

On Monday, the Prairie Village City Council during a committee meeting unanimously advanced updates to the city’s e-bike and e-scooter ordinance that would also cite parents who know their kids are breaking the rules — in addition to the police department’s message that “increased enforcement” is on the way.

What are the rules in Prairie Village?

For more than a year, the city council and police department have worked on restrictions of micro-mobility devices in the name of safety for minors in particular.

In addition to requiring kids ages 17 and younger to wear helmets while riding micro-mobility devices, Prairie Village also has the following limits in place as of summer 2025:

• A non-reckless or careless clause, requiring operators to ride the device “with due regard to other pedestrians.”
• A limit on the number of riders on a device, particularly the manufacturer-recommended limit.
• All Class 3 e-bikes, which can reach speeds topping 30 miles per hour, are only allowed on the street.

Putthoff said officers are required to look at the device and compare it to what equipment is classified as a 1, 2 or 3 in order to tell a legal e-bike from a Class 3 bike or an e-moto. A document has been provided to officers for guidance, he said.

See a copy of that guidance below:

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There are outright micro-mobility bans at shopping centers in the area, including at the Shops of Prairie Village, Corinth Square, Ranch Mart and Nall Valley Shops.

PVPD moves from education to “increased enforcement”

Since adopting helmet requirements and other restrictions on micro-mobility devices over the past year-and-a-half, Prairie Village police have prioritized educating minors violating the city’s ordinance.

In June, Police Chief Eric McCullough told the city council that the plan was to continue educating the public on micro-mobility restrictions.

Now, after stopping and warning minors, connecting with parents and additional educating efforts the week of Aug. 17 to 21 near the start of the school year, the police department “is transitioning from warnings to a more aggressive enforcement, including citations,” according to an Oct. 1 city email blast.

Compounding the issue is the uptick this summer of e-motorcycles, which have become more commonplace. These are effectively electric motorcycles and require a valid driver’s license to operate — but more children across Johnson County are starting to ride these devices.

“It’s important for parents and riders to understand the legal distinctions between these devices,” the email reads. “Many high-powered electric vehicles being ridden by kids are not legal “toys:” they are unregistered motorcycles.”

Before the move to “increased enforcement,” Putthoff told the Post that police officers had the discretion to warn or cite a minor depending on the violation and how many times the minor had been stopped for that violation.

In 2026, the police department issued 11 citations and 32 warnings as of Oct. 5, Putthoff said.

More rules are on the way

On Monday, during a committee of the whole meeting in which no formal action can be taken, the city council unanimously advanced amendments to the city’s e-bike and e-scooter ordinance.

The largest change under the advanced amendments is that a parent or guardian who “knowingly allows a child to violate” the city’s rules can be cited for those violations.

If approved, the changes will also clarify the definition of a micro-mobility device in order “to capture all electric-assisted devices in the ordinance.” It also changes the e-scooter and e-bike ordinance to become a micro-mobility ordinance.

The amendments will be considered at a future city council meeting for formal action.

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