(rdnewsNOW file photo)

By Alessia Proietti

No helmet requirement; penalties assigned

E-scooter minimum rider age now 16

Mar 1, 2022 | 6:00 AM

Red Deer city council updated the e-scooter project regulations at Monday’s meeting to reduce the minimum rider age to 16 years old.

Earlier this month, council reviewed feedback gathered on the first season of the e-scooter pilot project in Red Deer. The City became aware that minors frequently used e-scooters. As a part of that review, council asked for more information to come back on the possibility of reducing the minimum age of riders from 18 to either 16 or 14.

The City found no evidence of increased injuries or harm to underage riders 16 to 18 years old, based on data or information from pilots in Red Deer or other Alberta municipalities.

Half of e-scooter companies were on board with the changing of the minimum rider age. However, the other two companies out of the four were not in favor, noting financial implications with their insurance premiums and consent issues with legally binding agreements. As a result, those companies said they would either have to pass the costs onto customers or potentially remove themselves from the project.

With an estimated 1,750 scooters in the city, this could mean only 900 scooters for the second season if half the companies were to remove from the project.

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Council approved second and third reading of an amendment to the Traffic Bylaw to modify the minimum age to 16, following provincial legislation, instead of the previous minimum age of 18.

“Making this change allows users who were likely already using e-scooters to continue to without risk of violating the bylaw or e-scooter company rules,” said The City in a release.

The City was also asked to look into mandatory helmet requirements for underage riders. The City recommended not mandating helmets as scooters are capped at 20 km/hr and from 1,434 riders surveyed last season, 83 per cent of respondents did not wear a helmet. Some of the reasons were they did not have one readily available on them at all times and trips are often made out of impulse.

Amy Fengstad, Parking and Licensing Supervisor also mentioned the difficulty for RCMP officers as differentiating a rider between the ages of 16 to 18 is not always evident.

In the city of Calgary, the minimum age for e-scooter riders is 18 with no mandatory helmets. In Edmonton and Okotoks, it is 16 years of age and no helmet requirements. In St. Albert, it is 16 years with a helmet requirement.

“We are the third largest per capita community in the country, with a higher per capita usage than the city of Toronto. Kudos to Red Deer; it really reflects how fully and how excited this community has been around embracing scooters,” said Councillor Vesna Higham.

The Traffic Bylaw amendments approved by council on Monday also include amendments for enforcement tools to help gain greater compliance with e-scooter usage.

Penalties include the following:

• Operating an e-scooter in a transit terminal: $100
• Operating without due care and attention: $250
• Operating with a passenger: $100
• Operating under the age of 16: $40

Council also gave first, second and third reading to an amendment of the Business Licence Bylaw to coincide with the Traffic Bylaw amendments.