OCEAN CITY, Md. — While Ocean City is in its offseason, police and town officials are already preparing for the busy summer months, as concerns grow over the increasing number of electric scooters.
Police say that increase has led to more accidents. Avid bicyclist Dave Tucker said he witnessed an electric scooter crash firsthand last summer.
“One day me and my wife are on Coastal Highway, and we’re just cruising down the road. It was raining, and I saw the scooter flying and the person come flying off,” Tucker said. “They just wiped right out. I was like, ‘Oh my God.’”
Police say that increase has led to more accidents.
According to the Ocean City Police Department, collisions involving electric scooters significantly outpaced those involving bicycles and e-bikes in 2025. From January through September, police reported 20 bicycle and e-bike crashes, compared with 49 electric scooter collisions.
Police say the rise in scooter-related crashes has made the issue a top priority ahead of the upcoming tourist season.
Tucker, who rides a Class 1 e-bike that reaches speeds of up to 20 miles per hour, said he has noticed scooters keeping pace with him on town streets. “I’ll be riding down and I see a scooter right by me,” he said.
To address safety concerns, Ocean City police are working closely with the Ocean City Council to implement preventative measures before summer. The department plans to focus on educating seasonal J-1 students who frequently use scooters, emphasizing roadway rules, updated sidewalk regulations and the use of newly installed green-painted lanes that will be installed before the summer season begins. The green lanes are designed to better define and protect travel spaces according to the ocean city police.
Tucker believes education and enforcement could help reduce dangerous behavior. “It does get kind of reckless out there,” he said. “They just don’t stop at red lights or anything like that.”
A full crime report comparing 2025 and 2024 is scheduled to be presented to the Ocean City Council on March 2.