After multiple accidents on campus and 2 scooter-related deaths, IUPD and Lime are taking steps towards student safety. Police, IU Health employees and Lime employees gathered in October at the corner of Indiana Avenue and E Seventh Street to hand out Lime-branded helmets and offer free scooter rides to students. While this is an issue no one expected, officials are still working to keep students safe.

“I don’t think we predicted that they were gonna be maybe as dangerous as they are, that’s why we are having these events now,” said IUPD’s Public Information Officer Hannah Scibba. “We are seeing the accidents and just want to make sure our students are prepared to step on one.”

This is not the first effort from IUPD. On October 11, 2022 the Mayor announced that campus scooters, such as Lime, are banned from usage from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. daily. They say this decision is meant to work against possible injury factors such as darkness and impairment from alcohol or drugs.

Some students do not agree.

“Scooters are definitely not a toy and people need to realize that,” IU senior Alex Scrivener said. “However, I don’t think that gives them the right to take away the scooters from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m.”

Besides staying off of the vehicles in the restricted hours, there are other precautions users should be taking: riding in a bike lane and wearing a helmet. Officials say that these are the easiest ways to prevent injury, and even death, but some students still skip out on them.

“We definitely have seen a fair number of injuries that can range from, you know, minor injuries but unfortunately we have seen fatalities,” IUB Hospital trauma program manager Lori Gill said.

The helmet hand out was over the course of three days from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. Lime and IUPD handed out over 100 helmets throughout the week however the Lime-branded helmets were not handed out on Friday the week of the event. Instead, passerby received black helmets.

Lime does not consider their vehicles to be “motorized vehicles” whereas IU does. The Lime helmets included a sticker claiming that it was not meant for motorized vehicle usage. This discrepancy led the university to halt the Lime helmet handout and instead give students plain, black helmets.

IUPD and Lime stationed at the corner of Indiana Avenue and E Seventh Street to hand out helmets.

Lori Gill watches for students.

IUPD K-9 fashions a Lime-branded helmet at the scooter safety campus event.

IU student takes advantage of a free scooter ride provided by Lime and IUPD.

The Lime-branded helmets handed out on the Monday and Wednesday of the campus scooter safety event.