We’re a big state with big challenges. Each morning we explain the top issues and how Californians are trying to solve them.One weekly email, all the Golden State newsGet the news that matters to all Californians. Start every week informed.A student rides their electric scooters through campus at the University of California, Davis on Oct. 3, 2023. Photo by Miguel Gutierrez Jr.
Riding an e-scooter allows Kristine Bhan, a fourth-year Cal State Long Beach student majoring in studio art, to haul heavy art supplies up the campus’ many hills. At UC Davis, nearly a quarter of students who rode an e-bike had an on-campus fall that resulted in an emergency room or hospital visit, according to aconducted in 2022. Among students who rode a regular bicycle, that number was just 7.5%. Nearly 90% of e-scooter riders who fell or crashed reported an injury that didn’t need medical attention.
“We actually don’t have authority, as the state of California, to tell an electric scooter operator where they can and cannot go,” said Sacramento State Director of Transportation and Parking Services Jeff Dierking. Riding an e-scooter shortens Patel’s commute from her off-campus apartment from a 15-minute walk to less than 10 minutes, which means a lot, she said, when she’s running late for class or during a Southern California heat wave. Since some motorized micro-mobility devices can reach speeds of up to 30 or even 40 miles an hour, and users often ride unprotected without helmets and other safeguards, rider safety is a concern.
“People are like, ‘Scooters and bikers are so rude and so unsafe, and they’re going so fast,’” Patel said. “I can’t use my phone while I’m scootering — my eyes are up. If anything, it’s the people walking that are not looking.” “ are very vulnerable to irregularities in the roadway and can toss a rider off easily if they’re going too fast.”Even with safety rules in place, some campuses still see serious crashes and injuries. A freshman died from falling off his e-skateboard near Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in 2020, even though the campus has prohibited e-scooters, scooters and skateboards for over 10 years. The campus does allow e-bikes and bicycles.
UC Berkeley currently prohibits rented e-scooters from entering campus, but personal devices are allowed in campus bike lanes. Sacramento State redesigned its policy on e-bikes and e-scooters in 2019 and allows personal devices on campus with designated pedestrian-only zones, where campus police watch for violators and ask them to dismount their devices. Storage locations — bike racks and a bike compound — border the zones. A geofence around the campus perimeter deactivates all rented e-scooters and e-bikes.
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