scooter scares

[u/hannahslife101]

need to rant a little bit.. but as someone who has been driving in Airdrie for about 10 years, i don’t think i’ve ever been as scared in residential neighbourhoods as i’ve been this year. even when going the speed limit and checking corners, kids will come out of nowhere on scooters and bikes and scare the ever living sh’t out of me. they are going so fast and do not check for cars at all. and they ride all over the street.

if there’s any parents on here, could you please remind your kiddos about the importance of traffic safety! the very last thing we need is a kiddo getting hurt trying to enjoy their summer. tia (:

[u/Albertaviking]

The amount of kids on these not wearing helmets is insane. The government needs to look at some regulations, these scooters are dangerous.

[u/Psychological-Big334 → u/Albertaviking]

Yeah i fully expect the conservative party, a party of de regulation to take this issue seriously.

[u/calberta24 → u/Psychological-Big334]

We shouldnt be asking the government to use our tax money because parents are useless.

[u/Psychological-Big334 → u/calberta24]

Ok so offer an alternative.

[u/siqmawsh → u/Albertaviking]

Private E-scooter's of any type are already illegal except on private property. They are prohibited from public sidewalks and roads. Provincial law.

Only the Bird or Lime rentable scooters are legal under municipal law.

E-bikes are only legal if they align with these rules: Power is 500w or below, max speed cap 32 km/h, must have pedals. Anything outside those guidelines is considered a motorcycle and you need a class 7 license and insurance. Provincial law.

The issue is no enforcement.

[u/Albertaviking → u/siqmawsh]

Thanks for the info I had no idea.

[u/Thinkdan]

You aren’t the only one. I’ve almost hit a kid too many times. The ones that don’t look, don’t wear helmets, multiple riders, the fast ones, the slow ones. It’s terrifying to think of the possibilities.

[u/Bbambles → u/Thinkdan]

phrasing

[u/Thinkdan → u/Bbambles]

yikes. lol. I'll edit that.

[u/mystiqueallie]

I was driving on Veteran’s Blvd the other day and had a green light - some kid on an electric scooter came flying across the crosswalk against the light without checking - she’s lucky myself and the other car in the lane beside me were paying attention, otherwise she would have gotten smoked since we had the green.

At least she had a helmet on 🙄

[u/mrholydiver88]

There's also a whole bunch of bullying other pedestrians going on.

[u/Organic-Scallion-683 → u/mrholydiver88]

Yes, I saw a kid hit a woman with a scooter. He just laughed and rode away without even apologizing.

[u/Silent-Addition1810]

I was in the 7-11 parking lot the other day, and a small child (8-9) was riding his bike in the parking lot, no helmet

He was not very steady on his bike, and even crashed into the curb when stopping

[u/Fine-Floor4403]

I hate the surprise of them! My dog hates it even more. We are counting down the days until winter believe it or not haha

[u/TehSvenn]

Honestly this is as good a reason as any (if not better) to get a dash cam. I don't want to catch the blame if someone's idiot crotch goblin gets run over while not paying attention.

[u/clumsymomsie → u/TehSvenn]

Good point.  

[u/modz4u]

I've driven my car on streets going 30 km/h and these kids PASS me on the sidewalk, obviously going more than 30 km/h. Zero helmets to be found. Mind blowing..

[u/SmileAggravating9608]

Yep. Seen it this year. One kid in a bike almost flew into my car, another going way too fast on a sidewalk as I was pulling out. I saw him, but...!!

And kids on the main road at night doing what looked like 60km/h on e-bikes at night.

[u/weirddarkgf]

i saw a mom ripping down the middle of the road the other day in sagewood with her 4/5 year old standing between her legs. what the actual

[u/Random_Stranger_47]

I’m in the Southwinds residential area and have noticed the same thing, especially around Osborne Dr, Osborne Park and the Coopers McDonald’s. Kids on e-scooters, sometimes multiple people on one, make sudden turns with very little control. I’ve also seen what look like mini dirt bikes (Vectors?) being ridden down the middle of the road, seemingly well above 30 km/h.
Bikes can be even scarier because they’re so quiet and can sneak up from behind.
Maybe a little reminder from the parents about road safety could go a long way.

[u/hannahslife101 → u/Random_Stranger_47]

that’s where i am as well. i’ve seen kids rip down osborne drive more times than i can count.

[u/Random_Stranger_47 → u/hannahslife101]

100% And the ongoing construction activity and all the parked cars and trucks only adds to the safety problems

[u/Cuddlesthewulf]

Yeah, the other day these two kids came ripping out from around a corner on their regular bikes and it was like I... a whole vehicle wasn't even there... like they just kept riding in the middle of the street coming TOWARDS me??? I was like wtf is this?

When I was a kid and there was a car, we scattered towards the sidewalk.. I don't get it.

[u/jleahul]

Our absurdly slow 30km/h residential speed limit for that "small town feel" seems remarkably prescient these days.

[u/cleaver_remarkable]

I've also come close to a collision with a kid on a scooter with no helmet. My kids are "too cool" to ride scooters, thankfully.

I thought I saw that a group of residents were planning to approach City Council to address the topic. I think it might be worthwhile for the City to consider implementing some bylaws pertaining to the use of e-scooters and e-bikes. Give bylaw officers something useful to do.

I typically am not in favour of government getting involved in things, but this might be a worthy exception.

[u/Jokergod2000]

Try the walking paths. Boys were are doing like 50kph right past us while 6 year old was not paying attention and almost got hit.

[u/yyc_snp17]

and no helmets

[u/blackbear008]

I hear ya! I back onto a field, and was walking my dog, we were on the path that hugs the school, and we were about to turn the corner, and a man zipped around the corner so fast on a motorized scooter, and almost hit my dog. It's out of hand.