Scooters and other methods of transportation

Last year electric scooters showed up on canpus. They were everywhere. People would just leave them wherever it was convenient for them. There were many accidents. I had a student suffer a broken leg when another student on a scooter ran into him while he was riding his bicycle. The university banned scooters as dangerous and forbid them from being on university property.

This fall, the electric scooters are back with university approval, approved parking spots, and a new vendor. It is likely that the university is getting a fee from the new vendor; a fee is a polite way of saying “kickback.” The electric scooters are still dangerous. No safety equipment such as helmets is required to ride them. The university police report does not specifically break out accidents involving scooters. Anecdotal evidence says that the scooters are still dangerous, but the university looks the other way, since it is now a source of income. Look both ways twice before walking anywhere on campus. Just walking is more dangerous today than it was a year ago.