E-scooter course Saturday at LMS

Reacting to a growing community concern, the School District No. 2 Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) is offering a free E-scooter safety course this Saturday morning at Lovell Middle School.

Several Lovell citizens, including members of the town council, have experienced near misses recently with children riding the fast-moving scooters that can suddenly dart out from behind a parked car or zip through an intersection.

Parents have been asked to speak to their children, and the Town of Lovell is looking into a possible ordinance to govern scooters. BOCES will play an educational role, teaming up with the Lovell Police Department to offer Saturday’s two-hour course.

According to BOCES promotional material, the program is designed for youth age 10-16 and will focus on building safe riding habits, awareness and confidence on e-scooters, adding, “With e-scooter use on the rise, this course will provide the skills and knowledge needed to keep riders safe while having fun.”

The coursework conducted in the middle school commons starting at 10 a.m. will be taught by Lovell High School math teacher and drivers education instructor Adam Craw, and after the students move outside, Lovell Police Officer Dusty Schultz will go over local laws, rules of the road and safety measures and test student skills on their scooters.

There are 12 spots available for the program, and as of Tuesday, four students had signed up. Each student must provide his or her own scooter and helmet. Snacks and small prizes will be provided by BOCES.

Officer Schultz noted that laws and ordinances portion of the instruction Saturday will be taught in line with current bicycle sections of the town code, since a scooter-specific ordinance has yet to be passed. He said instruction will include how to approach an intersection, how to use crosswalks, traffic regulations, using appropriate speed and more, touching on things like manufacturer’s regulations including only one rider per e-scooter.

The idea is to bring awareness to kids and parents alike, Schultz said, noting that his message will urge students to be alert and pay attention, because “they (drivers) are not watching you, so you’re watching them.”