As e-devices top holiday shopping lists, warnings about their risks ramp up

When strolling through an outdoor mall in Henderson earlier this month, Paula Zolnar spoke of gift ideas for her 19-year-old son.

Since he doesn’t drive a car, she figured one option could be an e-scooter.

“It wouldn’t be a really fast one and he would have to wear safety gear,” Zolnar said. “As opposed to him walking or me driving him around, it would be more convenient.”

As e-scooters and e-bikes have become more popular around the Las Vegas Valley and across the country, the increase in ridership has also helped lead to some grim statistics.

As of Friday morning, the Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center trauma center had treated 219 patients with injuries related to the use of e-scooters or e-bikes so far this year, according to John Pope, vice president of trauma services at Sunrise. About a month ago, that figure was about 170.

But more and more patients keep trickling in. Several injured patients came in Thursday afternoon alone, Pope said.

In early December, University Medical Center officials, as part of a public service announcement with Clark County leaders, said that e-bike- and e-scooter-related injuries have increased 400 percent over a three-year period.

UMC officials said they had treated over 200 such injuries in the first 11 months of 2025 alone, including 30 patients under the age of 18.

‘Some people just don’t care’

It’s become a community-wide problem that has garnered the attention of law enforcement officials, politicians, parents, and retailers like Joe Cantalicio, who owns WheelZen Rides, a shop near Valley View Boulevard and Spring Mountain Road that sells scooters and other electric-powered devices.

Cantalicio has been into motorcycles and other devices his entire life, but also preaches daily about safety, he said. He tells his buyers to wear helmets and other protective gear, to know what’s street legal and what isn’t, and to learn how to properly operate anything he sells.

But lately, he said he feels like it can be a losing battle.

“I tell people these things every day, but some people just don’t care,” Cantalicio said. “Everything can be dangerous. Why do we sell cars that go 140 mph? It’s the human that’s the problem, not the machine.”

Cantalicio said a 22-year-old man who bought an e-scooter from WheelZen Rides, Christopher Soto, died after a car collided with his scooter at West Warm Springs Road and South Torrey Pines Drive in March.

Cantalicio said he knows the crash wasn’t his fault, but it still affected him. Soto’s younger brother, who was riding with him at the time of the crash and was injured, is still a shop customer, Cantalicio said.

Cantalicio said one of his most popular e-scooters — he calls it “entry level” — costs a little under $1,000 and tops out at close to 25 mph. But he also sells more expensive e-scooters, including one that can go about 70 mph.

“Some of the stuff we sell, it’s only meant for professional riders, and I tell that to people all the time,” Cantalicio said. “I sometimes try to talk people out of buying something. At the end of the day, these parents want to show off to their kid or their step-kid. They want their kid happy. You’d be surprised how many people are like that.”

Police: ‘Anything that goes under 28 mph is pretty much legal’

Like a growing number of people, Cantalicio believes tighter regulations on e-scooters, e-bikes and some types of e-motorcycles are inevitable. Some changes have already happened.

In May, the Clark County Commission unanimously approved an ordinance designed to regulate the use of e-bikes, e-scooters and motorcycles on unincorporated Clark County land. The rules limit speeds to 15 mph and require helmets for all riders under the age of 18.

Some state laws apply universally in Nevada, but municipalities can also have their own rules as well. Boulder City, for instance, established a new code in September that is slightly stronger than the county code in some areas.

Earlier this month, Clark County leaders sent a letter to business owners who sell e-motorcycles, e-scooters and other e-devices in the Las Vegas Valley.

In addition to highlighting the adoption of the new ordinance, the letter noted that e-motorcycles are required to be registered, insured and street legal to operate on the county’s public roads. It also noted that all e-motorcycles must have a vehicle identification number.

But gray areas remain as regulators and communities attempt to make policies designed to keep riders — and others, including pedestrians — safe.

“The e-scooters and the e-bicycles are, for the most part, legal,” said officer Robert Wicks, a Metropolitan Police Department spokesman. “Anything that goes under 28 mph is pretty much legal to be on our roadways.”

Commissioner: Parents need to understand what they’re buying

In the county’s letter, there’s a line that encourages business owners to “ensure your own business practices comply with current regulations to avoid liability or enforcement action.”

But with the liability question, Dr. Marla Royne Stafford, chair of the Marketing and International Business Department at UNLV, said retailers and companies are likely protected as long as potential dangers are articulated and age ranges for riders are listed.

She said she’s noticed the uptick in e-scooter ridership in the valley, especially on UNLV’s campus, where leaders, she said, are considering more restrictive rules about where the devices can go.

“Take e-scooters — I don’t view an e-scooter as a controversial product,” she said. “Adult-use cannabis is only available, legally, to those 21 and over, same with gambling and tobacco. Marketing campaigns for these products are not to be directed to anyone under the age of 21. You will get in trouble. There’s no law that says a 16-year-old can’t buy an e-scooter or e-bike, so you’re talking completely different products.”

Some, including Cantalicio, wonder if tighter regulations will also materialize for devices like e-scooters. Clark County Commissioner Justin Jones can be counted in that group.

Another advocate for safe riding, Jones said parents need to understand what they are buying for their children. He said he’s even purchased products in the past for his children where he didn’t fully understand how fast they could go.

“The county, the cities, and (the Clark County School District) are continuing to work on enforcement and education campaigns,” Jones said. “We’ll probably be going back to the Legislature in 2027 for some updates and clarifications when it comes to e-scooters and e-motorcycles in particular.”

In North Las Vegas, Carlos Ruelas’ small LV Motor Sports store sells several types of e-scooters. Like Cantalicio, he said he receives a lot of business now from adults who want to replace their car or truck with a scooter to get to work or just to get around town.

He said he’s been selling e-scooters for about three years and that they’ve gotten more and more popular.

“People say they can either pay for their car or pay their rent,” Ruelas said. Let’s say you live here and you work at a casino on the Strip, one of these might make it to and from work three or four times per week on one charge. If you work at a casino and you can’t find a parking spot, you can get one of the scooters that folds up. You’re not spending on gas or insurance or registration or any of that.”

Sheriff: ‘100 percent a parent problem’

On the law enforcement side, safety on Las Vegas roads has become a major concern for Sheriff Kevin McMahill.

According to Metro statistics, five e-scooter riders and another three e-bike riders died as a result of crashes from Jan. 1 through Nov. 16. Of those eight fatalities, five crashes were deemed to be caused by “e-bike/scooter error,” according to Metro.

During a recent interview with Review-Journal reporters, McMahill joked that he would like to make all e-scooters “disappear” if he could. He was serious about the risks they present.

“Kids are dying on these things,” McMahill said. “Parents want to be cool and buy the e-bike or the e-motorcycle and these things can go 40 mph or faster. These kids have no driver’s license, no helmet, they’re riding on sidewalks, riding in the middle of the street and, big shocker, then they get hit by a car. This is 100 percent a parent problem.”

Contact Bryan Horwath at bhorwath@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BryanHorwath on X. Review-Journal staff reporters Akiya Dillon and Noble Brigham contributed to this report.