E-scooter injuries are already sending many Canadians to hospital, with new data showing a sharp rise in serious crashes, especially involving powerful new e-models. Emergency physicians warn of severe trauma, from skull fractures to brain injuries, according to a Vancouver Sun report.
Lack of clarity on e-device regulations
In a Vancouver Sun article in December 2024, Alex Bigazzi, an associate professor in civil engineering and planning at the University of B.C., highlighted the huge increase in e-bikes and assorted e-transportation devices on Vancouver’s roads and bike paths. “I think we could do a lot more to provide clarity around what devices people are allowed to use and what are the legal characteristics for those devices. Right now we have a landscape where no one is really sure what’s allowed to be used,” said Bigazzi.
Current chaos on paths and roads
On a sunny Saturday afternoon, the landscape on Vancouver’s multipurpose paths, designated bike and walking trails, and some sidewalks, are starting to look chaotic. If something isn’t done soon about the anarchy, people are going to get killed, warns lifelong cyclist and former cycling columnist Michael McCarthy.
Efforts in Metro Vancouver to get people out of cars, to ride bikes or simply to stretch their legs have proved wildly successful, but perhaps too much of a good thing. E-scooter riders in Burnaby are now facing tighter restrictions after the city adopted new rules that ban e-scooters on major road networks and arterial roads “unless riders are using a separated cycle lane or multi-use pathway.”
International precedents for e-scooter regulation
Due to the danger they represent to riders and pedestrians alike, electric scooters are becoming heavily regulated and even banned entirely in many cities. Madrid has completely banned e-scooter rental programs. In Paris, citizens voted to completely ban shared e-scooter rentals. Prague has banned e-scooter rentals in the city centre. Singapore banned e-scooters from all footpaths and sidewalks, allowing them only on designated paths.
Proliferation of other e-vehicles
Aside from e-scooters, other e-vehicles have suddenly popped up all over the Lower Mainland like mushrooms after a rainstorm. Powerful fat-tired 200-pound motorcycles and family e-carriages carrying three to four people are now common. Next up, delivery robots, which are already arriving.
Potential lawsuits to force action
One wonders if lawsuits against city hall are required to establish basic ground rules. In Vancouver, citizens, civil rights groups and even civic officials are suing and challenging civic authorities in court over issues ranging from human rights to alleged defamation and fiscal mismanagement. To succeed, you must prove the city was negligent and breached its duty of care. Common examples include suffering an injury on poorly maintained city property or experiencing property damage due to municipal negligence. If a municipality doesn’t take reasonable steps to ensure its roadways are safe for people to use, it can be liable when someone’s injured in a bike accident.
Maybe it will take angry or injured pedestrians or bike riders to launch a lawsuit to wake up the civic authorities. Perhaps a city councillor might even take up the cause. Either way, action needs to be taken soon. Our beautiful landscape is starting to resemble a free-for-all out there.
