Motorized personal vehicles, like e-scooters, are now legal on Quebec bike paths.
But some say they’re concerned over the safety of these vehicles as more and more collisions and injuries are being reported.
Cases at the McGill University Health Centre have gone from one a year in 2011 to 19 cases combined in the past two years.
“If I compare it to the regular scooters, they have higher rates of admission, so it means the injuries are more severe and a lot more of them are caused by collisions with motor vehicles,” said Glenn Keays, a researcher at the MUHC’s trauma department.
Keays says half of the injuries involve children. He advises not to ride e-scooters with your kids in the front.
The warning comes as e-scooters and personal vehicles become legal to roll on Quebec bike paths.
Get weekly health news
E-scooters have been legal in France since 2019.
A new study coming out of that country shows that injuries due to e-scooters are as severe as those from motorcycle crashes.
Sophie Gilbert is aware of that. She always wears her helmet.
“The wheels are small so we can easily lose balance if the path is damaged,” said Gilbert, who has been using an e-scooter for four months.
Ben Gameroff uses a unicycle and shares the road with e-scooters.
“There are so many kinds of different vehicles these days that everyone has to be mindful of each other,” Gameroff says.
He welcomes Quebec’s new rules.
Only those aged 14 and up can ride a motorized personal vehicle. No cellphones or headphones are allowed. Riders are required to wear closed shoes, helmets, and elbow and knee pads. For unicycles, gloves must be worn too.
Fines for not wearing protective gear are up to $200.
Officials hope the legislation will help keep the number of collisions and injuries down.