Young riders have been hurt on e-bikes and e-scooters in Greenwich, and police want families to pay attention before school starts back up.

The Greenwich Police Department issued a safety advisory Monday, Aug. 17, urging parents and young riders to follow basic precautions after officers responded to recent incidents in which juveniles were injured while riding electric bikes and scooters. The department did not say how many incidents occurred or where in town they happened.

The advisory, reported by Greenwich Free Press, lists 10 safety practices: always wear a properly fitted helmet; obey traffic signs and signals; ride at a controlled speed; stay alert; use caution at intersections, driveways and parking lots; wear bright or reflective clothing and use lights; do not carry passengers on single-rider devices; keep both hands free for steering and braking; learn the equipment before riding in traffic; and talk with young riders about laws and safe operation.

The department stressed that e-bikes and e-scooters "are not toys," noting their speed and interaction with cars and pedestrians creates serious injury risk when riders skip safety gear or ride carelessly.

Seizure ordinance still on hold

The advisory landed days after the Board of Selectmen postponed the second reading of a proposed ordinance that would let police confiscate dirt bikes, ATVs and modified e-bikes from reckless riders. That vote had been expected at the selectmen's Thursday, Aug. 13 meeting. No new date for the second reading has been announced.

As we reported Aug. 2, Capt. Patrick Smyth of the Greenwich Police Department presented the draft ordinance to selectmen on July 23, arguing that traffic tickets alone were not deterring dangerous riding in neighborhoods including Cos Cob, Old Greenwich and Armstrong Court. The ordinance draws its authority from Connecticut Public Act 25-80, which allows escalating fines — $1,000 for a first violation, $1,500 for a second and $2,000 for each subsequent offense — as well as permanent vehicle forfeiture.

Smyth noted during that presentation that many modified e-bikes exceed 3,500 watts, reclassifying them as motorcycles under state law and making them illegal for juveniles to operate. In April 2026, Greenwich police posted a photo of a 10,000-watt e-bike being operated by a rider under 16.

E-bike injuries rising statewide

The injuries are not unique to Greenwich. In Connecticut, 144 crashes involving e-bikes and e-scooters occurred between 2021 and 2025, according to the Connecticut Crash Data Repository, as reported by Greenwich Free Press. Of those, 124 resulted in injuries and one was fatal. More than 25% involved riders under 18.

Nationally, emergency department visits for micromobility crash injuries rose from 37,300 in 2017 to 149,100 in 2024, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Lauren Fabrizi, a spokesperson for AAA Northeast, said in an Aug. 13 statement on e-bike safety that many injured riders "are children who lack the skill and experience to ride at high speeds, or the training and practice to operate what is essentially a motor vehicle on public roads."

Central Middle School principal Tom Healy banned e-bikes and e-scooters from the Cos Cob campus in September 2025.

Residents who want to report dangerous riding can contact the Greenwich Police Department's non-emergency line.