New data shows visits to the emergency department at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) due to injuries related to e-scooters and e-bikes are increasing. In a one-year period ending in May 2025, visits to CHEO related to e-bike injuries more than doubled and scooter injuries jumped by 50 per cent compared to the year prior. “I don’t think it’s necessarily surprising,” said Rob Attrall, a board member with Bike Ottawa. “I have seen a lot of kids, they’re almost certainly younger than 16, using electric scooters and not only is that they’re just less experienced and they’re potentially more prone to taking risks…they’re not sized for kids of that age. They’re sized for adults. And so, you end up driving something that’s potentially much larger than it should be for you. And it also, again, has a very powerful motor that’s capable of going a lot faster than you might expect.” Riders must be 16 or older to ride an e-scooter and helmets are mandatory for people under 18. Additionally, only one person can be on the scooter at a time, and they can’t be driven on the sidewalk. “With the city, we’re really restricted on ours. We have caution in mind,” said Coun. Tim Tierney. “You can’t stunt ride, you can’t speed. We have zones. Unfortunately, the private scooters that people can purchase and use on their own under the Ontario law, they don’t have the same restrictions. That’s where we see a majority of the injuries taking place.” This comes after two collisions in Ottawa this week involving e-bikes and vehicles—one resulting in the death of a man in his 50s. The Ontario government is looking at changes that would put e-bikes into different categories depending on how they’re powered and their weight. Another change would see motorcycle-style e-bikes only permitted on roads if they meet requirements of an existing motor vehicle class. Ottawa Police released a video on social media about e-scooter rules reminding people they’re only allowed in bike lanes, multi-use pathways and roads under 50 km/h. “The reason we have those laws is because we want to make sure that someone understands the rules of the road before they operate something like this,” said Sgt. Josh Callaghan with the Ottawa Police Service Road Safety Unit. “It is not a motor vehicle under the Highway Traffic Act, however, it is a motorized vehicle and with motorized vehicles comes more responsibility.” Police continue enforcement blitzes at least once a month. E-scooter providers in the city also do enforcement of their own. In 2025, Bird issued 252 warnings and Neuron suspended two riders, according to a response to a councillor’s e-scooter safety question prepared for the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee.
