Report States Roll Out Electric Scooter Laws

Zipping through intersections, electric scooters (e-scooters) are an increasingly common sight across the United States, especially in major metropolitan areas such as Austin, Texas, and Denver, Colorado.

The advent of shared e-scooter and e-bike micromobility services has led to increased access to these mobility options in dozens of small and large cities in the U.S. There were 65 million trips taken in the U.S. in 2023 using shared e-scooters, up from 56.5 million trips in 2022, according to a National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) report.

The rise in e-scooter usage has been swift. As recently as 2017, there were virtually zero shared e-scooter trips in the U.S. One year later, in 2018, the arrival of dockless e-scooter sharing systems propelled 38.5 million e-scooter trips in the U.S.

E-scooters are the most popular version of "micromobility" which, as defined in Minnesota's statutes, means a vehicle propelled only by human power, powered by an electric motor from a rechargeable battery or both and includes devices such as electric bicycles, motorized foot scooters and electric personal assistive mobility devices, among others.

Electric scooters are also variously known in state statues as e-scooters, electric foot scooters, electric standup scooters, electric-assisted scooters and electric low-speed scooters. They are typically defined as a two to three-wheeled vehicle weighing less than 100 lbs., built with a platform to be stood on with handlebars for steering.

The scope and frequency of e-scooter crashes, fatalities and injuries is difficult to ascertain using existing data sources, but some reports do give a sense of how often and where and when e-scooter crashes tend to occur. As noted by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's (CPSC) between 2021 and 2022, there were 111 fatalities related to e-scooters. 75 deaths were caused by motorists striking e-scooters with their vehicles and 18 fatalities were caused by e-scooter users losing control and crashing into fixed objects. The report also estimated e-scooter crashes led to 169,300 emergency room visits between 2017 and 2022. Of that total number, it is estimated that 25% of the emergency room visits were for scooter riders in the 15-24 age range. In the same 2023 CPSC report, researchers found a majority (63%) of injuries occurred on roadways compared to sidewalks (29%).

Typically, a majority of e-scooter users will use bikes lanes if they are available, according to a 2022 report by the National Institute for Transportation and Communities. The report also noted that even when e-scooter users were not permitted on sidewalks, 36% of users would ride on sidewalks in areas without designated bike lanes and with high motor vehicle traffic.

E-scooter crashes are dangerous, regardless of where they occur. In 2018, the city of Austin, Texas, published a survey of e-scooter injuries. The results showed that in 2018, 190 e-scooter riders were injured, and roughly a third of the injured were first time users at the time of the crash. Meanwhile, more experienced riders—those who had taken over 30 e-scooter trips—were a reported 15% of the total 190 rider crashes. Roughly half of all injured users experienced a head injury, as noted in the report. Of those with head injuries, 15% had traumatic brain injuries, like concussions or brain bleeding.

State E-Scooter Laws

Given the rapid rise of e-scooter use, state lawmakers have explored a variety of legislative approaches to increase safety.

At least 28 states—Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Jersey, Nevada, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin—in addition to Washington, D.C., have enacted e-scooter laws. Eighteen of these were laws passed in 2019, as states began to grapple with how to best regulate e-scooters while not suppressing their popularity as a mobility option for short trips. California, Minnesota, Oregon, Texas and Washington's laws predated 2019, although Washington amended its law in 2019 to include e-scooters. Since 2020, eight states—California, Hawaii, Illinois, Minnesota, Mississippi, New York, South Dakota and Oklahoma—have either enacted new laws or amended existing statutes.

Definitions

With e-scooters becoming prevalent in the last seven years, states had to quickly respond to their widespread use while differentiating them from mopeds and other motorized vehicles that require licensure, registration and insurance.

Most states have similarly defined e-scooters with slight variations. All include combinations of the following examples in their definitions: e-scooters must weigh less than 75 or 100 pounds; be designed with two to three wheels; be equipped with handlebars, an electric motor and a floorboard that can be stood on while in operation; be solely powered by the electric motor or human power; have a maximum speed of no more than 10-20 mph on a paved level surface when powered solely by the electric motor and be equipped with an electric motor with a power output of not more than 1,000 watts to 2,000 watts.

In terms of e-scooter weight, three states require they weigh less than 75 pounds, while 13 states prescribe a weight of less than 100 pounds; the remaining states are silent on e-scooter weight.

Most states explicitly mention that e-scooters must be equipped with some combination of rubber wheels, functional brakes capable of safely stopping the e-scooter at heightened speeds, small front- and rear-facing lights for visibility, all-around reflectors and, in a few states, bells.

Operator/Operating Requirements

On a state-by-state basis, e-scooter laws designate different safety requirements for e-scooter operators. While five states specify helmet requirements for teenage operators, the age range is slightly different in each state. California and Minnesota require helmet use for anyone under the age of 18, Louisiana requires 17-year-old operators and younger to wear helmets, Hawaii requires operators under 16 to wear protective headwear and Connecticut requires operators ages 15 and younger to wear helmets.

In Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Minnesota and New York, operators must ensure that only one person is on an e-scooter at a time and/or not holding any objects that impede handling or braking the e-scooter. Three states—Illinois, New York and Utah—explicitly outlaw operating an e-scooter while carrying alcoholic beverages or while under the influence of drugs and alcohol.

Age Restrictions

While some states do not prescribe a minimum age requirement to operate an e-scooter, e-scooter sharing programs do: Bird, Lime and Lyft all require users to be at least 18 years old. However, 15 states have set a minimum operator age. Utah's operator age minimum is set lowest at eight years old. Minnesota's is set at 12 years old. Whereas Oklahoma and Virginia set the minimum age at 14. Hawaii's is set at 15. Seven states—Arkansas, California, Kentucky, Nevada, New York, Oregon and Washington—set the minimum operator age at 16. Mississippi's minimum operator age is set at 16-and-a-half. Arizona and Illinois have the highest minimum age requirements at 18.

Manufactured and Operator Speed Limits

Most states with e-scooter laws differentiate between a manufactured speed limit—the maximum speed which the e-scooter can achieve solely via the motor—and an operator's speed limit. Seventeen states—Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Nevada, New York, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin—set the e-scooter manufacturing speed at 20 mph. Of these states, seven states—Arkansas, Mississippi, Nevada, New York, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin—set the manufacturing speed limit at 20 mph, but set the operating speed limit lower, at 15 mph. New Jersey set the manufactured speed limit at 19 mph. While the manufactured maximum speed limit varies from state-to-state, e-scooter service providers can set the speed limit lower. Lyft's e-scooters have a maximum speed of 15 MPH.

Operator speed limits are like motor vehicle speed limits on roadways. They are the designated speed which operators may not exceed. Of states with specific legislation on operator speed limits, twelve states—Arkansas, Florida, Hawaii, Mississippi, Nevada, New York, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin—set the limit at 15 mph. Seven states—Colorado, Connecticut, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland and New Jersey—have no prescribed e-scooter operator speed limits.

Illinois has the lowest maximum speed limit in the U.S., set at 10 mph. Oklahoma has the highest maximum speed limit set at 25 mph for e-scooters specifically, although Minnesota sets the maximum speed limit of all micromobility devices more broadly at 30 mph. It is important to note that some states permit local governments to set the speed limit lower than state maximums.

Roadway Use

State e-scooter statutes may mention certain roadways where e-scooter operation is permissible or not allowed. Four states—Arizona, California, Oklahoma and Oregon—do not allow e-scooters to be operated on roadways with posted speed limits at or above 25 mph. However, it is important to note that California permits the operation of e-scooters on roadways with speed limits between 25-35 mph if they operate in certain bike lanes. However, local governments may authorize e-scooter operation outside of bike lanes at their discretion. Illinois and Texas prohibit e-scooter operation on streets with maximum speed limits of 35 mph or above, and grant discretion to local governments to prohibit operation on other streets, highways or sidewalks. New York does not permit the use of e-scooters on roadways with speed limits of 30 mph; Maryland prohibits their operation on roadways with speed limits of 50 mph or above.

Concerns over the increasing use of micromobility services, like shared e-scooter programs, versus the safety of on-foot pedestrian traffic has limited scooter deployment in some local jurisdictions and increased calls for further research and safety precautions for e-scooter riders.

Minnesota does not permit e-scooters to be operated on sidewalks, except when necessary to enter or exit a property. Eleven states—Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Nevada, New York, Texas, Utah and Virginia—allow local governments to determine whether to permit e-scooters to operate on sidewalks. Additional states may permit local governments to create ordinances on restricted use not explicitly listed in legislation or statute beyond roadways and sidewalks. For example, Wisconsin prohibits e-scooters from operating in state parks.