The number of collisions involving scooters, bikes and skateboards on UCI’s campus rose to 89 incidents in 2025 — an increase from 51 incidents since 2024 — according to the UC Irvine Police Department (UCIPD). Of these accidents, 30 involved pedestrians and micromobility vehicles such as e-bikes and e-scooters.
UCIPD’s Campus Operations Lieutenant Danny Henderson says that the rise is largely due to the increase in the number of scooters that are now commonly used around campus.
“I can tell you that just by looking out the window here at the police department where everyone comes from the [American Campus Communities (ACC)], I’ve probably seen 40 percent more ride by the window as compared to last year,” Henderson said.
For many students, micromobility vehicles make trips to classes and other off-campus locations quicker and more convenient.
“I live right around the [Anteater Recreation Center] and my options in the morning are either I can get onto a bus that is packed tighter than a can of sardines, or I can ride a bike,” said Minhtet Htoon, a second-year materials science and engineering student. Htoon rides his mechanical bike from his ACC apartment to school.
Htoon shared that he often sees students who are riding their scooters inattentively operating on Ring Mall, where scooters and bikes are prohibited. Oftentimes, they’re seen not wearing helmets, wearing AirPods or going at extremely high speeds.
He also believes that law enforcement does not deter these riders, who he thinks are the most dangerous, and who often speed past officers trying to stop them. Instead, he more commonly sees students get stopped by officers for riding past the dismount zone, as well as bike riders who are easily targeted because of their more frequent stops.
Another issue Htoon sees is that students are able to easily avoid UCIPD’s enforcement, which tends to be heavier in the first few weeks of each year.
“Everybody knows if you don’t get a ticket during that time, you will never get a ticket,” Htoon said.
According to Henderson, UCIPD officers stop anywhere from five to 100 students a day, depending on staffing levels and the number of duties they have to attend to. While on duty, officers prioritize calls for service regarding issues such as thefts, assaults and medical needs.
There are typically only three to four officers on duty at a given time, so heavy enforcement at all times is challenging, given the other issues officers have to attend to, Henderson stated.
“The issue is that this problem is just like anywhere else when it comes to people violating rules,” Henderson said. “It is a personal choice of that person doing it. And the only way to change that is to get people to realize that they need to ride safely.”
The three pillars of traffic safety, or the three E’s, help guide safety efforts on campus. They include enforcement, engineering of signage and road parking and education, which includes communicating with students about operating safely through social media, emails and information tables.
According to Erika Rule, the Sustainable Programs Manager for T&DS, the office offers Smart Cycling and Bike Friendly Driver safety courses, access to safety through the Safe Rider Survey program, hosts events such as uciRIDEtoberfest and WhimCycle, and enforces education checkpoints around campus.
“As ridership grows, our team has enacted several programs and events to proactively educate the community about the importance of taking the proper safety measures to protect themselves and others in shared spaces,” Rule told New University.
Citations for violations like riding on Ring Mall, operating outside of the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m., and speeding or riding prohibited motorized skate and scooter devices range from $30 to $45.
Htoon said fines do not deter people from breaking the rules.
“It’s a $30 ticket that doesn’t go on your record if it’s paid on time,” he said. “I know people who are like, ‘If I have to pay $30 a quarter to ride my bike on campus, I’ll pay $30 a quarter to ride my bike to campus.’”
First-year criminology, law and society student Chloe Webb gets nervous walking and driving around campus among scooters. She sees anywhere from five to 10 near-misses a week while walking around Ring Road.
“People on the electric scooters are either going to hurt themselves or worse, hurt other people. It’s just really frustrating to see them not obeying simple traffic laws,” Webb said.
Webb believes people need to be more conscious of the rules, and thinks enforcement should be harsher on those who operate vehicles on campus, especially those running stop signs. However, she thinks the best way to prevent accidents is for riders to be more conscious of safety issues.
“That’s more of a self-reflection, self-growth type of thing. So unfortunately, I don’t think there’s really anything we can do about that,” Webb said.
Mariam Farag is an Assistant News Editor. She can be reached at msfarag@uci.edu.
Edited by Joshua Gonzales