Health experts urge parents not to buy kids e-scooters for Christmas

As Calgarians conduct their last-minute Christmas shopping, health experts are pleading with parents not to buy their children electric scooters.

Citing injury risk and little-known laws around private e-scooter usage, Calgary-based emergency department physician Dr. Stephanie VandenBerg said she gives an “unequivocal nay” to gifting e-scooters for Christmas.

“I’m sorry to be Scrooge at Christmastime,” said VandenBerg, who previously worked with the City of Calgary when it launched its shared e-scooters in 2019.

She said it’s particularly dangerous for minors to be using the devices.

“It’s a combination of achieving really high speeds almost instantaneously, not having the balance or the core stability, and having an underdeveloped frontal lobe where kids might not be able to understand what’s risky and what’s not risky.”

According to data provided by Alberta Health Services, 3,660 e-scooter-related injuries were treated in Calgary-zone emergency departments and urgent care centres between January 2022 and August 2025.

A growing number of those injuries have been among people aged 17 and under — a nearly 68 per cent increase from 2022 to 2025.

E-scooter laws

At the University of Alberta’s Injury Prevention Centre, director Kathy Belton said part of the problem could be that many people don’t know the laws around riding e-scooters.

“Private e-scooters are not permitted on public roads, and this includes sidewalks, ditches next to public roads and places where the public is permitted to park or travel in a motor vehicle, for example,” said Belton.

It’s Alberta’s Traffic Safety Act that technically makes it illegal to use private e-scooters on public property.

However, there is one exception, according to the City of Calgary’s website. Private e-scooters can be used on Calgary’s bike lanes as long as they’re going under 20 km/h, as part of a pilot project with the province.

Alberta’s transportation and economic corridors minister said changes to private e-scooter regulations could be coming.

“Alberta’s government is currently reviewing the Traffic Safety Act, and part of that review includes looking at how to better define and regulate emerging transportation options like e-scooters,” said Devin Dreeshen in a statement.

When it comes to rented e-scooters, such as the ones offered by Bird and Neuron in Calgary, there are age restrictions in place. Anyone who uses them must be 18 or older.

There are no age restrictions for private e-scooters, but Belton said anyone under the age of 16 should not be using them.

Belton said she wants the province to legislate safety measures for e-scooters as well.

“Until they do, we’re going with: wear a helmet, don’t try these things when you’re under the influence of alcohol or drugs, make sure you’re in a safe place and away from traffic, ride solo, know where to ride.”

Follow the rules: store owner

At Voltz eBikes in Calgary, owner Sualeh Nauman said the benefits of using e-scooters can outweigh the risks, as long as users are being safe.

He said he doesn’t believe young people shouldn’t use them at all, just because they can be dangerous. Instead, Nauman said they can be used as a way to teach kids to follow the rules.

“If you speed in a car, you can get into an accident. If you don’t wear a seatbelt, you can get injured. But we don’t just ban cars. We just tell people to follow the rules and we have to implement the rules,” he said.

Nauman said he stresses to all of his customers that they need to abide by their municipality’s laws. And if they’re younger, he encourages them to use helmets.

He also urges anyone who’s buying a personal e-scooter to ensure it’s certified — even if it costs a little bit more.