As e-scooters become more popular throughout Waterloo region, the number of serious collisions is rising. According to Waterloo regional police, there were three e-scooter collisions resulting in serious injury, as opposed to one last year.
So far this year, there have been 3 serious collisions involving e-scooters, with just 1 last year
Lauren Kuivenhoven · CBC News
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As e-scooters become more popular throughout Waterloo region, the number of serious collisions have risen.
According to Waterloo Regional Police Service (WRPS), there have been three e-scooter collisions resulting in serious injury so far this year, as opposed to one last year.
The number of reported e-scooter collisions for 2026 is at 22 so far. Last year, there were 28 reported e-scooter collisions in total.
Police say a significant contributor to e-scooter collisions is the modification of the devices.
“They are being modified to go much faster than what they're allowed to according to provincial regulation of the Highway Traffic Act,” Staff Sgt. Scott Metcalfe told CBC News.
This July, a 19-year-old Kitchener man was taken to hospital with serious injuries after he was hit by an SUV while riding an e-scooter.
According to a report in March from the Region of Waterloo, there were 26 ambulance trips from April to November 2025 involving e-scooters users, as compared to 17 trips in 2024.
The report says the increase is “likely due to greater personal e-scooter usage.”
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In Ontario, e-scooters must follow a speed limit of 24 km/h on roads, bike lanes and trails and they aren’t allowed on controlled-access highways. Users must also wear a helmet.
Some of the collisions involve youth under 16, which is against the provincial regulation. Metcalfe says people under 16 may not be thinking about the hazards that exist on the road, since they don’t have a licence yet.
“Some of the challenges we've seen is with some of the younger riders … they don't really have any experience driving on the road with a vehicle,” said Metcalfe.
He says riders should be aware of their surroundings, maintain visibility on the road and have eye contact with other road users to figure out where they’re going.
Just last week, WRPS urged e-scooter users to follow the rules of the road when a video was shared online of a person driving an e-scooter on the Conestoga Expressway. Police posted the video and said “this is not where an e-scooter belongs.”
WATCH | Police share video of e-scooter rider on expressway: Police share video of e-scooter rider on expressway in Kitchener August 14| Duration 0:13
When riding an e-scooter, users must also be aware of local bylaws.
In Waterloo region, there’s different rules on where an e-scooter is allowed to operate, depending on the township or city.
Metcalfe says e-scooter users can look up the rules of where they're allowed to ride an e-scooter on their local municipality's website.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lauren Kuivenhoven is a reporter at CBC K-W. She loves hearing from the community and is open to stories at lauren.kuivenhoven@cbc.ca.
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