Motorized scooters are now the newest way to get around on campus. They litter the sidewalks everywhere you look but, with electric scooters comes danger.

“Well, people love them and we don’t have to use our feet, it’s something that can get us to class faster,” sophomore Crislyn Fayson said. “But it’s this whole factor of and- don’t forget to stay safe.”

Just a month ago, Crislyn was going top speed when she injured her leg on a motorized scooter, leaving her with a scar almost six inches long… and she’s just one of many. Freshman, Nolan Cutler also fell off of his scooter and was left with a long-lasting injury as well.

“And I landed on my hands,” Cutler said. “And the impact sprained my shoulder, my wrist, and I scraped up my hands and my knees pretty bad.”

Bird scooters have a top speed of 19 mph while Lime’s governed maximum speed is at 20. 20mph may be a good limit for a school zone but on a scooter, it can be very dangerous. Luckily, SMU is aware of this and has many safety precautions in place.

“The campus is actually geofenced so by policy and by the technology that Bird and Lime both use, if you’re riding on our campus the scooters are limited to 10 mph,” Director of Environmental Health and Safety, Brandon Chance, explained.

Though the speed limit is reduced on campus, the scooters do go 3 miles faster than university policy at 13 mph instead of the 10 mph listed in the protocol.

Watching your speed isn’t the only way to stay safe, SMU faculty and students have some other tips to pay attention to.

“The warnings and the pop-up screens that Bird’s app provides when you rent on campus,” Chance said.

“If you can, drive your scooter in ECO mode if that’s a possibility to keep the speed limit down,” Cutler shared.

“I mean they’re meant to have fun so have fun, just be safe about it,” Fayson said.