Morris restricts electric scooters, bans children from riding

The Morris City Council approved an ordinance preventing children from riding electric scooters in public spaces while also limiting anyone riding one in public to 10 mph.

Police Chief Alicia Steffes said there have been a lot of accidents involving electric scooters this summer.

“This is a state statute,” Steffes said. “We’re not a home rule jurisdiction, so we don’t have the ability to say we’d like you to wear helmets and they can only ride if they’re 16 and under. We can only go by what the state outlines as admissible.”

People who are over 18-years-old can ride on public roads, side walks and bike paths as long as they stay under 10 mph. Scooters are not allowed on US Route 6 or Illinois Route 47.

Steffes said the ordinance prohibits scooters from carrying more than one person at a time, and scooters cannot be attached to other vehicles or have other vehicles attached to them.

Those who violate the ordinance will face a $100 fine on the first offense and a $200 on the second. Steffes also said this law doesn’t prevent people from driving scooters on private property.

“Our goal is not to write tickets, ”Steffes said. “This is about education, not tickets. Having this as an ordinance gives us a tool when there’s that person we can’t keep from being safe.”