In recent weeks, rumors of a possible electric scooter ban have been swirling around campus. While there is a policy regarding scooters being drafted, it does not include their banning. Instead, the policy will limit areas where scooters can be parked and educate students on scooter safety.
Regarding the rumored ban, Ozzie Crespo, the director of the Department of Environmental Health and Safety, discussed the possible risks of scooters on campus. Crespo explained the new policy will primarily focus on educating students on e-scooter safety. He emphasized that students should be aware of the dangers associated with lithium-ion batteries, often used in e-scooters and other transportation and mobility devices.
“There’s been an increase in fires due to lithium-ion batteries at universities nationwide,” Crespo said. “Electronic scooters are kept in dorms, of course, and they’re left charging and they overcharge, and then it leads to thermal runaways where the fire just continues. There’s no way of really putting these fires out.”
Beyond safety education, the policy will include regulations on where scooters can be parked and general safety when riding scooters on upper campus. Crespo explained that parked scooters block major walking through fares on campus, causing accessibility issues and difficulties for pedestrians.
“The electronic scooters inside the buildings … for instance at Northrup Hall, yesterday I saw three scooters parked in Northrup Hall,” Crespo said. “So it’s to keep these scooters from inside the buildings, to prohibit them from being inside the building.”
Crespo also discussed scooter riding and pedestrian safety on campus. He explained the policy will implement regulations to ensure that students ride scooters safely on campus, which will benefit both riders and students who are walking.
“I’ve seen students riding around pretty quickly to these scooters and folks are concerned when someone zooms right past them with the scooter and the cop catches them off guard,” Crespo said. “What it really comes down to is just general awareness and safety of not just how to ride scooters, but how to charge them, that those are the two main components.”
