Article By: Timothy Connick, Contributing Writer

Campus can sometimes be hard to navigate, especially while rushing to a class. Steep hills, winding sidewalks, congested crosswalks, and confusing traffic patterns are all obstacles that the average student may face on a daily basis. “Wake up earlier” is the common advice for these problems, but some students find a more creative way to beat these environmental challenges: electric scooters.

Electric scooters, or e-scooters, on the surface seem like an easy way to beat the crowds and arrive at class on time, but in practice, they can cause more harm than good. Ever been almost flattened by a passing e-scooter? Seen an overzealous scooter user  face a collision? Ask any pedestrian on campus, and they will have many stories just like these.

Though scooters have been a campus staple for some time now, freshman class numbers getting larger and larger mean that more scooters are making their way onto campus. Larger crowds mean less space on crosswalks and sidewalks, which means more collisions per capita of scooter riders. 

The practice of unsafe maneuvers and the lack of adherence to safety rules are some of the main causes of the dangers that electric scooter users pose not only to pedestrians, but also to themselves as well. “Over 50% of e-scooter riders sustained a trauma to the head or face,” according to Nature.com. 

So, what is the solution? Though it may put some students in harm’s way, the appeal of speeding across campus is hard to take away. Signs around campus warn these errant scooterer users to walk their rides across crosswalks to avoid the risk of collisions with cars, but it seems these signs are often ignored or unnoticed. On the road, scooters risk serious injury from collisions with a car, while on the sidewalk they risk running into pedestrians. Is there a third option? 

Installation of clearer bike paths may represent a semblance of hope amidst this e-scooter epidemic and cut down on the number of collisions on campus. Though some designated walkways have preexisting bike lanes, they are in desperate need of repainting and clear separation from walking paths. Just like there are signs warning Jags to keep their head up as a precaution against vehicle and pedestrian collision, there should be a method of creating awareness about the utility of bike paths as well. In addition, closer adherence to sound safety practices while on these scooters, such as disembarking at crosswalks and wearing safety equipment– at the potential risk of a fashion faux pas– may also cut back on scooter-related injury. 

Though being a pedestrian on campus feels increasingly like a fight against the invasion of the scooters, solutions are out there to cut down on some of the problems created by this campus navigation convenience.