Caution issued by CSOs surrounding increasing use of scooters on city streets

With warmer temperatures, there has been a noticeable rise in the use of various transportation modes and pedestrian activity throughout the community. Community Safety Officers (CSOs) have specifically observed an increase in scooter usage within North Battleford, prompting this advisory regarding responsible practices for scooter operation.

Scooters, with or without motors or battery power, are considered “vehicles” under the City’s Traffic Bylaw No. 1946. Similar to bicycles, scooters are not permitted to be on sidewalks and must be used on streets.

While travelling on streets, people of all ages using scooters must obey the rules of the road. This includes stopping for pedestrians at crosswalks, obeying posted speed limits, signaling when making a turn, and stopping at stop signs.

CSOs have received reports of several occurrences in the last few days where people riding scooters have failed to stop at stop signs, leading to near-misses with motor vehicles. Consequently, CSOs will be closely monitoring this specific traffic violation over the next few weeks to educate users and to discourage unsafe actions on the roads. Although CSOs can issue tickets under Traffic Bylaw No. 1946 or the provincial Traffic Safety Act for violations, their current goal is to proactively educate users in order to prevent serious incidents.

For further information regarding the requirements for safe scooter use, please contact the CSO office at 306-445-1775.

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For more information:                                                         
Candace Toma                                                                                   
Public & Intergovernmental Relations Coordinator                           
306-441-0713
publicrelations@cityofnb.ca