Vancouver e-scooter riders overwhelmingly don’t wear helmets, police find

Vancouver police were busy in September, cracking down on e-scooter riders who were not following the rules.

Police said that since Sept. 4, there were 1,226 tickets handed out to e-scooter riders.

The majority were for not wearing helmets.

Insp. Stephanie Willoughby with the Vancouver Police Department said 920 riders stopped were not wearing helmets.

“We’re assuming that they’re going to tell somebody about their interaction and it’s hopefully going to have a positive impact on people wearing helmets in the future,” she said.

Of those 920, 167 tickets were handed out and 753 warnings were issued.

Riding on the sidewalk netted 22 tickets and 159 warnings and two tickets and 82 warnings were given for riding double or with a passenger.

In July, 30-year-old Shyan Lolly was riding a scooter in the area of Venables Street and Commercial Drive at 10 a.m. when she collided with the side of a vehicle.

She was not wearing a helmet, hit her head on the ground and was conscious when she was transported to the hospital, but she died from her injuries on July 11.

Her family issued a public plea for e-scooter riders to wear helmets.

The Vancouver police’s e-scooter safety blitz continues through the weekend.