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Should Oregon e-scooter riders be allowed to travel helmet-free?

This week, California made helmets optional for adults riding e-scooters. Should Oregon do the same?

PORTLAND, Ore. – This week, California made helmets optional for adults riding e-scooters. Should Oregon do the same?

California’s governor on Wednesday signed a bill that changed the state’s e-scooter laws to make helmets optional. Kids are still required to wear them. The law matches the state’s helmet provisions for motorized bikes.

Scooter company Bird, which also operates in Portland, backed the California bill.

In Oregon, e-scooter riders are required to wear helmets, but they’re not required on electric bikes, which can go much faster than the e-scooters’ 15 mph maximum speed.

Portland is currently in a testing phase for e-scooters on city streets. The pilot program ends on Nov. 20 and the city council will decide whether to change any regulations.

KGW reached out to the three scooter companies currently operating in Portland: Lime, Bird, and Skip, to see if they support the change.

Lime issued the following response: “We support safe riding practices, and will continue to encourage riders to wear helmets through messaging in our app and on our scooters, helmet giveaways, and proactive education. All first time Lime riders are required to complete an in-app tutorial that provides guidelines on helmet safety, and we will continue to implement tools like this to further promote safe riding and scooter use. The safety of our riders will always come first.”

Bird and Skip have not yet responded.

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