GREAT FALLS, Mont. — Great Falls Public Schools said e-bikes and e-scooters will not be allowed on school property when school starts on August 26.
Great Falls Public Schools placing ban on e-bikes and e-scooters starting next week
GREAT FALLS, Mont. — Great Falls Public Schools said e-bikes and e-scooters will not be allowed on school property when school starts on August 26.
District leaders said the new rule covers all schools from preschool through high school. Superintendent Heather Hoyer said the change was made because of safety concerns and worries about theft.
“We did this out of concern for safety and also both physical safety and also the safety of the bike or the motor scooter itself,” Heather Hoyer said.
Hoyer explained that concerns came from crossing guards, community members and people supervising outside school buildings. She said the district had several close calls last year involving students with other students and vehicles.
The district said the rule applies only to school property. That includes bus pickup zones, parent drop-off areas and spaces around playgrounds.
Gary Schoenthal, a crossing guard at Lincoln Elementary, said he has watched students around traffic for nearly a decade and has seen dangerous moments involving e-bikes.
“It really scares me to watch the safety of all the kids. We've had one kid that almost run over by an e-bike because they go so fast where they should be on the streets or on the sidewalk,” Gary Schoenthal said.
The district also pointed to concerns during busy school arrival times when campuses are crowded with buses, cars and students moving in different ways.
According to the American Medical Association, e-bike accidents rose from about 700 emergency room visits in 2017 to nearly 24,000 in 2022, the most recent year of data available.
For families whose children ride outside school grounds, Hoyer said parents should go over the rules of the road and decide where they feel it is safe to ride. Schoenthal also urged parents to stay involved and teach kids about being mindful about safety near traffic.
“The parents need to get involved and teach the kids not to go too fast. Watch for traffic. Watch across at the intersections. That's a big problem. And I think they just need to teach them to be safety conscious,” Gary Schoenthal said.
Hoyer said Great Falls is one of the first districts in Montana to formally ban e-vehicles on school grounds and said she believed other districts may look at their policy as a model.
Originally published on montanarightnow.com, part of the BLOX Digital Content Exchange.
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