Purdue threatens ban on electric skateboards after rise in crashes

Dave Bangert | Journal & Courier

WEST LAFAYETTE – Are electric skateboards on the way out at Purdue University?

This week, Purdue President Mitch Daniels said he was putting together a task force to study “the extreme safety issues” of electric skateboards, electric scooters and other personal electric vehicles on campus.

An outright ban is among the options for a mode of transportation that still has a relatively small, but growing fanbase that can produce speeds of more than 25 mph on sidewalks and bike lanes on the West Lafayette campus.

“We had a student require surgery just a few weeks ago after a near-fatal incident on an electric skateboard,” Daniels said in a statement released by the university Monday. “If action is needed to make campus safer, we need to take it before anyone else is hurt.”

Daniels announced a campus task force that would propose new policies dealing with electric vehicles and study whether those should include traditional, human-powered skateboards and bicycles. The task force is expected to look at possible speed limits, restrictions on hours of operation and helmet requirements.

Details of the crash Daniels mentioned were not immediately available. But Purdue Police Chief John Cox said the number of crashes involving electric skateboards and other forms of alternate transportation had increased on a growing campus.

Cox said Purdue police responded to 11 crashes involving skateboards, scooters, bicycles or pedestrians – “Anything but car vs. car,” he said – during the 2017-18 school year.

He said the number increased to 14 during the 2018-19 school year.

MORE: So long, scooters near Purdue, until next spring; a by-the-numbers look at rides in 2019

So far, during the fall 2019 semester, there have been 16, Cox said. That’s two more this semester than the entire 2018-19 school year.

Cox said the numbers are greater when medical runs done by Purdue University Fire Department are factored in. (“There’s not been a week go by that we haven’t had a report of an injury,” Purdue Fire Chief Kevin Ply said.)

“And the near-misses are another matter,” Cox said. “You stand at where everyone intersects (between classes), and it’s all the time. … It’s just something we can’t ignore.”

The crash data follows the introduction of electric scooters on campus, first in fall 2018 with smartphone activated rides from Bird Inc. Purdue initially tried to confiscate the scooters before giving in to what proved to be a popular way to get around. More recently, West Lafayette established a permit fee and cap on the number of scooters allowed in the city, in an effort to curb complaints about a city overrun by scooters.

The crash data also comes at a time of record enrollment. This year, Purdue had a record 44,551 student on the West Lafayette campus. That’s up 2.8 percent from a year ago and up 14.9 percent since 2014.

“While I know alternative transportation has its place, the problem is our environment is not very conducive to mixing all of them together with pedestrians and motor vehicles,” Cox said. “Our numbers show that electric skateboards are the most dangerous of these alternative transportation modes that we have on our campus.”

Seth Hernly, a Purdue junior studying kinesiology, stepped off his Meepo electric skateboard on his way between classes Tuesday.

“Are they serious?” Hernly asked when told about the target on electric skateboards.

Hernly said he started using an electric skateboard a year ago. He said it was the most convenient and fastest way around campus. He said he didn’t see electric skateboards getting too popular, given prices that push well beyond $1,000 for the better gear. But he said there was a group of about 200 dedicated electric skateboard riders in an online group at Purdue.

Has he had people give him grief or side-eye about his riding?

“Not really,” Hernly said. “I really try to take it slow and be careful, especially when I get in with pedestrians. … I don’t see giving this up. I’m not sure Purdue could really stop anyone.”

Brian Fielder, a junior in mechanical engineering, has an electric scooter. He said he didn’t think Purdue had a case for restrictions – “Beyond what bicycles are restricted to,” he said – and definitely no cause to ban them outright. Fielder said Purdue’s bike paths, where scooter and skateboards are supposed to go, “are poorly marked and riddled with pedestrians.”

“Electric skateboards and scooters are revolutionizing ‘last mile’ transportation for places like college campuses and dense cities, the last thing we need is to regulate them out of existence,” Fielder said. “I won’t lie and say that electric skateboarders, scooters and bicyclists never use the sidewalk, because they do, but they are generally safer about it and more aware of their surroundings than pedestrians, which often wander into bike paths by accident.”

Carol Shelby, senior director of environmental health and public safety, and student trustee Noah Scott will lead the task force, according to Purdue. The group also will include students and faculty, members of the Purdue police and fire departments, administrative operations staff and the city of West Lafayette. Cox said there is no timetable set to finish the study.

The University Senate, a faculty-led group, began studying on-campus transportation to deal with similar issues and complaints about scooters, electric skateboards and bicycles.

“What we’re seeing are more people on the same size campus,” said David Sanders, a University Senate member and a West Lafayette City Council member who helped initiate the on-campus transportation committee.

“Scooters and skateboards aren’t really replacing cars, it doesn’t seem,” Sanders said. “It’s just speeding up what used to be pedestrian traffic.”

Cox said campus police have no plans to ticket riders of scooters or electric skateboarders. An enforcement blitz in 2018, when Bird scooters first landed, resulted in 80 to 90 warnings, he said.

“We’re more about education,” Cox said. “It’s got to be a shift in the culture. … Whatever we do, we need to have buy-in. I think that’s where we’re heading with this.”

Reach Dave Bangert at 765-420-5258 or at dbangert@jconline.com. Follow on Twitter: @davebangert.