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E-scooters and e-bikes are widely available and popular throughout the Kansas City metro.
In Johnson County, you'll often find kids and teens riding them in their neighborhoods.
Overland Park could add some safety brakes after an increase in crashes.
Summer fun is a lot more electric and faster than traditional bikes and scooters. But the falls with electric transit vehicles can be more severe.
"[E-scooters] can go up to like 25 miles per hour," said 12-year-old Sunnye Carro of Overland Park.
A fall on her e-scooter landed Carro in the hospital with cuts to her arms, knees, and feet. She's recovering after a few weeks of being sore, but recalls the scary tumble she took while riding on the sidewalk.
"Our tires got stuck in the crack in between the cement and the grass, and we tipped over," Carro said. "Me and my friend Avery were just like, crying, and our knees couldn't bend. We were shaking because we got really bummed up knees."
Thankfully, Carro and her friend were wearing helmets while riding tandem on her scooter. But helmet wearing isn't strictly enforced in the metro.
"The concerning thing is a large number are head injuries," Dr. David Smith said.
Dr. Smith oversees youth sports medicine at the University of Kansas Health System. He's noticed an increase in injuries from e-scooters and e-bikes both locally and nationwide in recent studies. Upper body extremity fractures account for about a third of youth e-scooter injuries, but concussions and head trauma are becoming more common.
Dr. Smith explained the injuries are trending up as electric vehicles become more widely available in the metro.
"You can't always be with your kids, but it's important [to teach] them the principles of paying attention, you're on something that goes fast," Dr. Smith said. "Wear a helmet all the time, no excuses. Don't tandem scooter. Speed kills, and that's what we're seeing, speed."
According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, e-scooter and e-bike injuries have trended up since they first became widely available in 2017. There's been an average of a 23% increase every year since 2017.
Overland Park recently saw a fatal crash between an e-bike and a car on Metcalf Avenue. City leaders are now looking at guidelines and rules for the electric vehicles.
"There's a lot of confusion about what are the rules, where are folks supposed to be?" Ward 2 Councilmember Melissa Cheatham said. "Are they supposed to be on the sidewalk or on the street?"
The city doesn't want to take electric transit away, but instead re-imagine how the streets can carry everyone safely.
"It will be a two-pronged solution. One is getting the rules right and the other is designing our streets properly," Cheatham said. "We don't know what the right answer is in terms of the rules yet, so we're going to need to have a community conversation."
City and health leaders don't want to discourage kids from getting out and playing in the summer, but they want everyone to do it safely.
"There's always going to be injuries, no matter what we all do," Dr. Smith said. "How can we come up with some good guidelines without putting too many restrictions on things?"
Overland Park is starting the conversation with public safety agencies and traffic engineers before opening it up to the community for their thoughts on electric transit regulations.
"I do worry about my kid's safety on the scooter, but I think what they're doing on the scooters, as long as they're doing it safely, is really great," Cheatham said. "It's better than being home alone, playing video games."
As for Carro, she's back out on her scooter having fun, but with a more cautious eye.
"You should be careful, but they're also really fun," Carro said.
