E-Bikes and E-Scooters have become a more common sight amongst the bike racks here at GEHS. With the newfound popularity of E-Bikes and E-Scooters also comes a wave of people who don’t know how to properly use them on sidewalks, which results in almost running people over.
The most common E-Bikes owned are the class one and class two E-Bikes. These and E-Scooters run at 20 mph when fastest; which doesn’t seem like much compared to other motorized vehicles, but when on the sidewalks with pedestrians they can cause a fair amount of damage. Due to the fact that E-Bikes and Scooters could be the cause of pedestrians getting hurt, the riders need to take precautions to keep everyone on the sidewalk safe.
E-Bikes and E-Scooters use a lot of the same sidewalk rules normal bikes and scooters do. The easiest, and most helpful, piece of etiquette is shouting out to who you are about to pass with what side you’re passing them on. This is so the person being passed can step out of the way and give you enough room to pass.
Another piece of etiquette would be not going too fast on a busy sidewalk. Going 20 mph on the sidewalk is a sure fire way to crash into someone before you are able to slow down. When an E-Bike and E-Scooter crash occurs the operator and the one ran into may receive head and brain injuries, fractured and broken bones, spinal cord injuries, lacerations, road rash, and even death in severe cases according to Onward Injury Law.
Finally it is advised to be careful crossing streets. While there are stop signs all around the area, not everyone listens to them. Make sure to stop right before going into the road and watch for vehicles. If there is no one there, if you are being waved at to go, or if the cars properly stop at stop signs then you can go.
While convenient, those using E-Bikes and Scooters must be careful and watch for others on the sidewalk to keep everyone safe.
