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E-bikes and e-scooters are giving young people more freedom — and putting them into traffic at higher speeds. Here are the conversations parents should be having about helmets, visibility, speed, traffic and safe riding.

E-bikes and e-scooters have quickly become part of everyday life for a lot of young people.

Maybe your kid already has one. Maybe they have been riding it all summer. Maybe they use it to get to a friend’s house, around the neighbourhood, to school or simply to hang out with friends.

And maybe most of the safety conversation so far has been:

“Wear your helmet.”

That is important. But there is a lot more to talk about.

E-bikes and e-scooters can move quickly and put young riders into situations with cars, trucks, pedestrians and other riders where judgement and awareness matter.

IWK Child Safety Link has raised concerns about the growing use of these devices by young people and recommends that children under 16 not operate e-scooters, citing the strength, coordination, judgement and experience needed to operate them safely.

So how do you bring all of that up without turning it into a lecture?

Every parent knows their own kid and will have their own way of talking about safety. But if you are looking for a way to start the conversation — or wondering what you should cover — here are a few ideas.

Start With the Difference Between Fun and a Toy

There is nothing wrong with acknowledging the obvious.

E-bikes and e-scooters are fun.

They give kids independence and make it easier to get around without asking Mom or Dad for a ride.

But there is an important distinction worth talking about: something can be fun without being a toy.

Once an e-bike or e-scooter is travelling on or around a roadway, the rider is interacting with cars, trucks, cyclists and pedestrians.

One way to put it might be:

“I know you enjoy riding it, and I want you to. I just want you to remember that once you’re around traffic, you have to treat it differently than something you’re riding around the driveway.”

The point is not to scare them. It is simply to make sure they recognize that the consequences of a mistake can be more serious when speed and traffic are involved.

They May Not Want to Have This Conversation

Your kid may not be particularly interested in sitting down to talk about e-bike or e-scooter safety.

That is probably not surprising.

But there is a useful comparison you can make.

If they wanted to drive a car, they would not simply be handed the keys and sent onto the road. They would have to study the rules, pass a written test, get a learner’s permit, practice driving with supervision and demonstrate that they can handle a vehicle safely before driving on their own.

An e-bike or e-scooter is obviously different from a car. But some of the same thinking applies.

These devices can put a young rider into traffic at significant speed, often with much less protection than they would have inside a vehicle. They need to understand the rules of the road, know how to react around cars and pedestrians, recognize dangerous situations and develop good riding habits.

In some ways, there may be even less room for error.

One way to put it might be:

“If you were learning to drive, you’d have to learn the rules and practice before you could head out on your own. This isn’t exactly the same, but you’re still sharing the road with cars and moving pretty quickly. I just want to make sure you know how to do it safely.”

That can help shift the conversation away from “Mom or Dad doesn’t trust me” toward “this is something I need to know how to operate responsibly.”

And you do not need to turn it into a formal lesson.

A few conversations about traffic, speed, visibility and what to do in common situations can go a long way.

Talk About Speed in Situations They Understand

Telling a teenager to “slow down” may not accomplish much on its own.

It can be more useful to talk about when and why speed matters.

An e-bike or e-scooter travelling at 30 km/h covers more than eight metres every second. That means a rider can arrive at a driveway, intersection or turning vehicle much sooner than either the rider or driver expects.

Try talking through situations they encounter all the time:

• coming up to an intersection;
• passing driveways;
• riding alongside parked cars;
• moving around pedestrians;
• riding in rain or on wet pavement; and
• heading home as daylight begins to fade.

A simple message might be:

“Just because it can go that fast doesn’t mean that speed makes sense everywhere.”

It changes the conversation from “don’t go fast” to “think about where you are and adjust.”

Give Them One Rule to Remember: Never Assume a Driver Sees You

If there is one idea worth reinforcing, it may be this:

Never assume a driver sees you.

Young riders naturally see the world from their own perspective.

They see the car.

They may see the person behind the wheel.

They may think the driver is looking directly at them.

But the driver may also be watching other vehicles, checking a mirror, looking for pedestrians or preparing to make a turn.

And an e-bike or e-scooter can approach faster than the driver expects.

You could put it this way:

“You can see the car. That doesn’t necessarily mean the person driving it has seen you.”

That one idea can lead naturally into conversations about slowing down at intersections, watching driveways and being predictable around vehicles.

Use Your Own Neighbourhood as the Example

You don’t necessarily need a formal sit-down conversation.

The streets your child already rides can provide all the examples you need.

There may be a driveway around the corner with a tall hedge.

A busy intersection on the way to a friend’s house.

A street lined with parked cars.

A store parking lot that is always busy.

When you are driving together, ask a question:

“Could that driver see you if you were coming down the sidewalk or road right now?”

Or:

“What would you do if that car started backing out?”

Or:

“If the car at that intersection suddenly turned, where would you go?”

These are not trick questions.

The idea is to get your child thinking about situations before they encounter them at speed.

Talk About Riding With Friends

A group of friends out on e-bikes and e-scooters can be a pretty normal sight now.

And riding with friends is part of the fun.

It is also worth talking about how being in a group can change the way people behave.

Kids may ride side by side, race, try to keep up with someone on a faster device or simply focus more on their friends than on traffic.

One useful point to cover is:

“If your friend crosses the road, you still have to look for yourself.”

The fact that the first rider made it through an intersection does not mean the next rider can safely follow.

Another is:

“You don’t have to keep up with someone who is riding faster than you want to.”

It is a simple way to talk about peer pressure without making it a bigger parenting lecture.

Talk About Dusk Before It Gets Dark

Many kids are out on e-bikes and e-scooters in the late afternoon and evening.

That is often when visibility starts getting more difficult for drivers.

Dark clothes, trees, parked vehicles, shadows, wet roads and oncoming headlights can all make a relatively small rider harder to see.

One way to explain it:

“Being able to see the cars doesn’t mean the people driving those cars can see you as well.”

That gives you an opportunity to talk about lights, bright or reflective clothing and slowing down as visibility gets worse.

In Newfoundland and Labrador, RCMP reminds bicycle and e-bike riders that when riding between one-half hour before sunset and one-half hour after sunrise, the bike is required to have a white front light and a red rear light or red rear reflector.

Talk About the Helmet — Without Making It the Whole Conversation

The helmet is an obvious place to start, but it should not be where the safety conversation ends.

IWK Child Safety Link notes that head injuries are the leading cause of serious injury and death among children using wheeled activities and says a properly fitted and correctly worn helmet can significantly reduce the risk of serious head injury.

Families will decide how they set their own rules, but helmet use is certainly one worth discussing clearly.

And there is another point kids should understand:

Wearing a helmet doesn’t make risky riding safe.

It provides important protection if something does go wrong.

Don’t Forget the Phone and Earbuds

This one should be easy for most parents to relate to because it is essentially the same conversation we have about distracted driving.

At 25 or 30 km/h, looking at a phone for a few seconds means travelling a considerable distance without really watching where you are going.

Headphones and earbuds can also make it harder to hear vehicles, horns and other warning sounds.

Instead of simply saying “no phones,” you might agree on a very practical rule:

“If you need to check your phone, pull over somewhere safe and stop first.”

Easy to understand. Easy to remember.

Make Sure They Know the Basic Rules of the Road

Knowing how to operate an e-bike or e-scooter does not necessarily mean a young rider knows all of the rules that apply to it.

In Newfoundland and Labrador, RCMP reminds bicycle and e-bike riders to obey traffic signs and lights, travel on the right side of the road in the same direction as traffic, signal turns and stay off sidewalks. Bikes must also have at least one working brake.

Nova Scotia has specific rules for electric kick-scooters, while local municipalities can establish additional requirements.

And the rules applying to an e-bike may not be identical to those applying to an e-scooter.

So this can be something parents and kids look at together rather than parents simply reciting another set of rules:

“Let’s make sure we actually know where you are allowed to ride this and what the rules are.”

That may be particularly useful given how quickly these devices have become popular and how regulations continue to evolve.

Ask Questions Instead of Asking “Do You Understand?”

Most parents know what happens when you finish explaining something and ask:

“Do you understand?”

The answer is usually:

“Yes.”

You may learn more by asking a few practical questions instead.

“What would you do if a car started backing out of a driveway?”

“What do you assume when you see a car waiting to turn?”

“What do you do when it starts getting dark?”

“What if your friends are riding faster than you?”

“What do you do if you need to check your phone?”

It doesn’t have to feel like a test.

The idea is simply to get them thinking and talking too.

Before the Next Ride: A Simple Safety Checklist

You certainly don’t need to stand at the front door with a clipboard every time your child leaves the house.

But if you’re looking for a quick list of things to talk through together, these are good places to start:

• Helmet properly fitted and worn.
• Front and rear lights working.
• Know where you’re going and where you’re permitted to ride.
• Follow stop signs, traffic lights and other rules of the road.
• Slow down around intersections, driveways, parked cars and pedestrians.
• Never assume a driver sees you.
• Ride predictably — don’t weave through traffic or make sudden moves.
• Don’t race or feel you have to keep up with faster friends.
• Keep the phone away while moving.
• Make sure you can hear what’s happening around you.
• Make yourself easier to see, particularly around dusk.
• Know how fast your e-bike or e-scooter can actually go.
• If a situation doesn’t feel safe, slow down, stop or get off and walk.

You may have other rules that make sense for your child, their age, where you live and how they use the device.

The checklist is simply a starting point.

Know What Is Sitting in Your Garage

There is one other part of the conversation that is probably worth having with yourself.

How much do you know about the e-bike or e-scooter your child is riding?

What is its maximum speed?

How quickly does it accelerate?

Are the brakes working properly?

Does it have functioning lights?

Can its speed settings be changed?

Has your child changed them?

Is it intended for one rider?

Your kid may actually know more than you do about how the device works.

That is okay.

But understanding what it is capable of can help you have a much more informed conversation about how and where it should be used.

It Doesn’t Have to Be One Big Conversation

Perhaps the most important thing is that none of this needs to happen in one big sit-down safety lecture.

There will be plenty of natural opportunities.

You see someone riding dangerously while you’re in the car together.

Talk about it.

You hear about an e-bike or e-scooter collision in your community.

Ask what your child thinks happened.

They tell you about a close call.

Listen and talk it through.

The goal isn’t to make young people afraid of e-bikes and e-scooters or to take away the independence they enjoy.

It is simply to help them develop the judgement that goes along with that independence.

Looking Out for Each Other

At Munn Insurance, we believe being part of a community means more than helping people when something goes wrong. It also means helping raise awareness about risks we are seeing and doing what we can to help prevent injuries before they happen.

E-scooters and e-bikes are changing the way young people get around, and all of us are still adjusting. If you are looking for a way to start the safety conversation with your child, we hope some of these ideas help.

Talk about it. Keep the conversation going. And look out for each other.

Because safer streets and safer communities are something we all have a stake in.