There have been nearly two dozen collisions involving e-scooters in Waterloo Region during the first eight months of the year. Waterloo Regional Police shared data with CTV News on Monday. They said 22 e-scooter crashes were reported between Jan. 1 and Aug. 17. One involved a 19-year-old man who was thrown from his e-scooter after being hit by the driver of a Toyota at Northfield Drive West and Parkside Drive. Another crash at Homer Watson Boulevard and Ottawa Street North sent a 16-year-old to hospital. The injuries to both were described as minor. Last year, there were 28 collisions involving e-scooters. “The number of serious injuries is already higher in 2026 than it was in all of 2025,” police wrote in an email to CTV News. “Last year, there was only one e-scooter collision resulting in a major injury, compared to three major-injury collisions so far in 2026.” Dangerous behaviour One recent incident raised alarm bells with Waterloo Regional Police. Video circulating on social media showed an e-scooter speeding and weaving in-and-out of traffic on Highway 7/8 in Kitchener. “That person’s not only putting themselves at risk, but also those around them,” said Ontario Provincial Police. The road rules differ by municipality, but e-scooters are not permitted on any provincial highway. Why the concern? As the popularity of e-scooters and e-bikes grows across Canada, so too has the number of collisions. The Canadian Institute for Health Information reported 498 e-scooter hospitalizations from 2023 to 2024. “We are seeing traumatic brain injuries, facial trauma, abdominal trauma, fractures, lacerations,” Debbie Friedman, the director of injury prevention at Montreal Children’s Hospital, told CTV News in June. At BC Children’s Hospital, most of the patients they see for e-scooter-related injuries are between the age of 13 and 15. “Over half are not wearing helmets, 59 per cent are riding over the speed limit of 25 km/h, so we want people to be aware of the inherent risks of riding e-scooters,” said Dr. Shelina Babul, director of the BC Injury Research and Prevention Unit. According to the Canadian Paediatric Society, 10 children under the age of 18 died in 2025 from e-scooter-related injuries. As for age restrictions, they vary from province to province. The minimum is 16 years old in Ontario, Saskatchewan, British Columbia and Prince Edward Island, while users in Quebec and Nova Scotia must be at least 14 years old.
