Electric scooters are everywhere now. For teenagers, they can be a fun and convenient way to get around the neighborhood, visit friends, or get to school.
But there's a big difference between the scooters many parents grew up riding and today's electric scooters: speed.
Some e-scooters can travel 20 mph or faster. At those speeds, a pothole, wet pavement, unexpected car, or momentary loss of control can turn a normal ride into a serious accident.
As Jacob Ayubi, a State Farm Insurance Agent in Ashburn, Virginia, I spend a lot of time talking with families about protecting what matters most. Insurance is part of that conversation, but preventing an accident in the first place is even better.
For parents in Ashburn, Loudoun County, Northern Virginia, and across the country, here are some things worth knowing before your teenager's next ride.
E-Scooter Injuries Are Increasing
The growth in e-scooter use has unfortunately been accompanied by an increase in injuries.
According to national safety data reported by WHYY, emergency-room-treated e-scooter injuries increased from approximately 10,600 in 2017 to nearly 80,000 in 2024.
Children also represent a significant portion of those injuries.
A Johns Hopkins Children's Center analysis of Consumer Product Safety Commission data recorded 2,117 e-scooter injuries among children between 2020 and 2024, with the number increasing each year.
Approximately 40% of the injuries involved broken bones, dislocated joints, or sprains, while about 4% involved head injuries.
Younger riders may also have less experience recognizing hazards such as traffic, pedestrians, uneven pavement, wet surfaces, and sudden changes in road conditions.
Something as ordinary as a crack in the pavement can become a serious problem when you're standing on two small wheels traveling at motorized speeds.
What Does the Fatality Data Tell Us?
Fatal e-scooter accidents are much less common than injuries, but they do happen.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission documented 206 e-scooter deaths from 2017 through 2024.
Across micromobility products, including e-scooters, e-bikes, and hoverboards, reported fatalities also increased substantially during that period.
For e-scooters specifically, collisions involving motor vehicles and riders losing control have been among the major hazards associated with fatal crashes.
For parents, the takeaway isn't that teenagers should never ride an electric scooter.
It's that we should stop thinking of them simply as toys.
An electric scooter is a motorized vehicle capable of enough speed to cause a serious injury.
Why Helmets Matter So Much
If I could give parents only one e-scooter safety rule, it would be very simple:
No helmet, no scooter.
Research cited by health and safety organizations indicates that helmets can reduce the risk of serious head injuries by approximately 60%.
E-scooters create a particular risk because riders stand upright. When a scooter stops suddenly, the rider's momentum can send them forward and potentially over the handlebars.
The scooter's relatively small wheels can also struggle with potholes, gravel, cracks, curbs, and wet pavement.
Despite those risks, helmet use among e-scooter riders remains surprisingly low. Research cited by Consumer Reports found that only about 4% of e-scooter riders wore helmets, compared with approximately 28% of cyclists.
For a teenager, putting on a helmet takes seconds.
Those few seconds could make an enormous difference.
What Kind of Helmet Should Your Teen Wear?
At minimum, teenagers should wear a properly fitted, certified helmet every time they ride.
For scooters capable of higher speeds, parents may also want to consider a helmet meeting the NTA-8776 standard, which was developed for higher-speed e-bike and e-scooter riding and provides additional coverage around parts of the head.
Whatever helmet you choose, fit is extremely important.
A helmet should:
Sit level on the head.
Sit low on the forehead, approximately one or two finger-widths above the eyebrows.
Have straps that form a V underneath each ear.
Fit snugly without rocking significantly from side to side.
Be replaced if it has been damaged in a crash.
Parents should also follow the helmet manufacturer's recommendations regarding replacement and useful life.
And remember: the best helmet in the world can't protect your teenager if it's sitting in the garage.
Four E-Scooter Rules Parents Should Consider
A helmet is the starting point, but it shouldn't be the entire safety plan.
Many e-scooter accidents are single-rider incidents involving falls or loss of control rather than collisions with another vehicle. That means riding habits matter.
1. Control the speed.
Many electric scooters can reach 20 mph or more. Consider choosing a scooter with a lower maximum speed or using parental or app-based speed controls when available.
2. Ride during daylight and know the route.
Potholes, gravel, wet pavement, cracked sidewalks, and unfamiliar roads can be particularly dangerous on small scooter wheels.
3. One rider and no distractions.
Don't allow passengers. Phones and other distractions can take a rider's attention away at exactly the wrong moment.
4. Check the scooter before riding.
Regularly check the brakes, tires, steering, lights, and scooter stem. A quick inspection can identify a problem before your teenager discovers it while moving.
These rules don't require banning the scooter.
They simply mean treating it with the respect you would give any other motorized vehicle.
The Insurance Question Parents May Not Think About
There's another question families should consider:
What happens if your teenager hurts someone else or damages someone else's property while riding an electric scooter?
That's where things can become complicated.
Depending on the circumstances, families may wonder whether their homeowners insurance, renters insurance, personal liability coverage, auto insurance, or umbrella policy could apply.
There isn't one universal answer.
Insurance policies contain specific definitions, conditions, limitations, and exclusions, and the circumstances surrounding an accident matter. The type and specifications of the scooter may matter as well.
That's why it's worth having the conversation with your insurance agent before an accident happens.
As a State Farm Insurance Agent in Ashburn, VA, these are exactly the kinds of questions my team and I want families to ask us.
I'd much rather have a five-minute conversation with a parent today than have that family discover after an accident that their coverage doesn't work the way they assumed it did.
The Bottom Line for Parents
Electric scooters aren't going away.
For many teenagers, they're fun, convenient, and increasingly part of everyday life.
The goal doesn't necessarily need to be taking the scooter away. The goal should be reducing the risks we can control.
Start with the simplest rule:
Every ride. Every time. Wear the helmet.
Then add reasonable speed limits, daylight riding, familiar routes, no distractions, and a quick equipment check before riding.
Those are small steps that can make a very big difference.
I'm Jacob Ayubi, State Farm Insurance Agent in Ashburn, Virginia, and my team helps families throughout Ashburn, Loudoun County, Northern Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Washington, D.C., and North Carolina understand their insurance coverage and prepare for life's unexpected events.
If you have questions about how your family's homeowners, renters, auto, personal liability, or umbrella insurance may relate to situations involving your children, vehicles, or other everyday risks, my team at Jacob Ayubi – State Farm Insurance Agent is here to help.
Because protecting your family isn't only about having insurance after something happens.
It's also about understanding the risks before it does.
Jacob Ayubi
State Farm Insurance Agent
Jacob Ayubi – State Farm Insurance Agent
Ashburn, Virginia
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