Scooters are now a permanent part of Grand Junction and its culture.

E-scooters, like the ones many of us have seen in bigger cities with brand names Lime and Bird, have been added to the city of Grand Junction. You may have noticed them around town. How could you not see them since they are everywhere? Some have made their way to the Grand Junction High School. 

This is an experiment by the city to see if the electronic scooters are a good fit into the city of Grand Junction. However, what they didn’t know is that you can’t quit the scooter. 

These scooters can be compared to a weird uncle or a vampire. They can’t enter your house but as soon as you give them permission they stay forever.

There are some positives to having these scooters around town. If you need to get somewhere instead of starting a car you can use a scooter to get there in a minute. They can also be really fun to ride with friends. They are everywhere so you always have the option to ride them, however that does not outweigh the problems.

The scooters can simply be abandoned in the streets and be left in random places where it can be annoying to have to move them. Sometimes when I bike to school I have to avoid scooters that have just been left half haphazardly on sidewalks.

They can be annoying for non-scooter users in many ways. It can be annoying to have to move out of the way for a scooter or almost get hit by someone on a scooter. The scooters can also go up to 25 miles per hour which is really fast to give to some random irresponsible teenager. Kids are stupid, believe me, I am one of those stupid kids. But to give them the power of being able to go 25 miles per hour is a big risk we don’t need.

Not only that but it requires a credit card and an app to download. The problem is that not everyone has a credit card to purchase access to a scooter.

The city of Grand Junction plans on regulating them, whatever that means. If you’re under the age of 18 you have to wear a helmet.

First, I have to bring my own helmet to ride them. Because as everyone knows you always have a helmet on you at all times. Also who is going to enforce this rule?

“He’s not wearing a helmet, get him boys,” police officers will say when they see someone riding without a helmet.

Imagine the conversations that will spawn from this:

“Hey bro, you want to go scooter riding,” Helmet guy asks.

“Oh no, sorry bro, I forgot my helmet,” Not Helmet guy responds.

“Well, that’s too bad bro, see you later,” Helmet guy boasts as he rides off into the sunset.

I can wait to get in trouble for not having a helmet on me at all times.