PETITION TO THE BRAMBLETON HOA BOARD

Restrict Electric Bike / Scooter Use by Riders Under Age 16 on Community Property

To the Brambleton Community Association Board of Directors:

We, the undersigned residents of Brambleton, respectfully petition the Board to adopt and enforce a community rule prohibiting any rider under the age of 16 from operating an electric bike or electric scooter (including standing, seated, and throttle-assisted models) on HOA-owned or HOA-maintained property — including sidewalks, trails, paths, common areas, and community parking lots — unless directly accompanied by a supervising adult age 18 or older. We ask that the Board consider this policy at its next scheduled meeting.

Why This Matters

Electric scooters travel far faster than a child can safely control on foot, bicycle, or traditional scooter, and national data show that injuries to children and teens are rising sharply as these devices have become more common in residential neighborhoods like ours:

● A 2023 U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission report found that micromobility-device injuries (e-scooters, e-bikes, hoverboards) rose nearly 21% in a single year (2021 to 2022), with an estimated 23% average annual increase since 2017. The CPSC is aware of 233 deaths tied to these devices from 2017-2022 alone, with reporting still incomplete.
● That same CPSC report found children 14 and younger accounted for about 36% of all micromobility injuries — roughly double their 18% share of the U.S. population.
● A Children's Hospital of Philadelphia analysis of national emergency-room data found e-scooter injuries among children under 18 rose from 5,012 in 2020 to 8,545 in 2021 — a 71% increase in one year.
● A recent industry safety report tracking national ER data found e-scooter injuries in the 11-14 age group doubled year-over-year, and injuries among children under 15 have risen nearly eight-fold since 2020.
● Published pediatric-trauma research links the rise directly to speed and lack of protective gear, reporting injury rates increasing 293% for e-bikes and 88% for powered scooters among children between 2019 and 2022, and finds e-bike riders under 25 are roughly twice as likely to suffer a traumatic brain injury as riders of traditional bicycles.
● Regional children's hospitals (Colorado, Pennsylvania, and others) report 2025-2026 caseloads of serious e-bike/e-scooter trauma in kids already exceeding totals from the prior several years combined, with common injury mechanisms including collisions with vehicles on roads and sidewalks near schools and neighborhoods — the same shared spaces used daily throughout Brambleton.
Recent Local Tragedies

This is not an abstract, out-of-state problem — it has already cost children's lives right here in Loudoun and Fairfax counties in the past two years:

● Herndon, Fairfax County (July 2026): A 9-year-old boy died after the electric scooter he was riding struck the side of a minivan in a neighborhood parking lot near Dulles Airport. He was not wearing a helmet.
● Sterling, Loudoun County (May 2025): A 13-year-old girl died after being struck by a car while crossing the intersection of Nokes Boulevard and City Center Boulevard on a scooter. The Loudoun County Sheriff's Office cited this crash while describing a roughly 70% year-over-year increase in e-bike and electric-device crashes countywide. She was not wearing a helmet and was not in a crosswalk at the time.
Consistent with standard practice for minors, authorities and local news outlets did not publicly release these children's names. We include their stories, not to sensationalize, but because they are our neighbors — and because they illustrate exactly the kind of unsupervised, high-speed riding this petition seeks to prevent.

What We Are Asking For

1. Adopt a community rule that riders under age 16 may not operate an e-bike or e-scooter on HOA common areas, sidewalks, trails, and paths within Brambleton unless directly accompanied by a supervising adult (age 18+) riding or walking alongside them.
2. Post clear signage at trailheads, community parks, and high-traffic pedestrian areas noting the age and supervision requirement.
3. Communicate the policy to all residents via the community newsletter, website, and app, with a brief explanation of the safety rationale.
4. Direct HOA management to include the restriction in the community's rules-and-regulations handbook and covenant enforcement guidelines.
This request is about safety, not restricting recreation. Traditional (non-motorized) scooters, bicycles, and other low-speed devices would be unaffected, and riders under 16 could still enjoy e-bikes and e-scooters with direct adult supervision. Our goal is simply to keep the youngest and most vulnerable riders in our neighborhood from operating devices capable of speeds and stopping distances they are not developmentally equipped to manage safely, unsupervised, on streets and paths shared with pedestrians, pets, and vehicles.

Sources: U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Micromobility Products-Related Deaths, Injuries, and Hazard Patterns (2023); Children's Hospital of Philadelphia analysis of NEISS data (STAT, 2026); Children's Hospital Colorado / Colorado State Patrol (2026); Penn State Health Children's Hospital (2025); eRideHero Electric Scooter Accident Report (2026); Weiss et al., Physician and Sportsmedicine (2026); The Conversation, e-bike/e-scooter youth safety research (2026); WTOP News (Sept. 2025 and July 2026); Loudoun Now / Loudoun County Sheriff's Office; DC News Now; FOX 5 DC.