B.C. school districts crack down on e-scooters, e-bikes as emergency room visits grow | Canada Voices

More British Columbia school districts are banning electric bikes and scooters from their properties ahead of the new school year, citing a spike in injuries among underage riders.

The Langley School District says in a letter to parents this week that e-scooters and e-dirt bikes are now banned at all of its schools, and the Nanaimo-Ladysmith school district says elementary school students who arrive to school on an e-bike or scooter will be sent home.

Both school districts say an increase in injuries among children and youth riders influenced their decision to implement bans on school property.

Dr. Genevieve Ernst, trauma medical director at BC Children’s Hospital, says the hospital has seen a steep rise in both emergency room visits and devastating brain injuries for child patients as the result of e-scooter crashes.

By law, light e-bike riders must be at least 14-years-old and e-bike or scooter riders must be 16.

But data from the Canadian Hospital Injury Reporting and Prevention Surveillance Program shows the highest proportion of emergency room visits for e-scooter crashes were for children aged 13 and 15.