Rules for Rides: GCU's New Policies for Wheeled Devices

ANNOUNCER: Accidents resulting in bruises, concussions and broken bones can occur when students ride electronic devices at high speeds throughout Grand Canyon University. To minimize accidents, GCU’s Department of Environmental Health and Safety and Department of Public Safety added rules to the University Policy Handbook. For GCU News, here’s Mickey Jackson.

REPORTER: GCU’s tagline, "private, Christian, and affordable," is missing one last adjective: electric. Students ride and park thousands of electronic scooters on campus, and the number of riders increases yearly due to the growing student body.

Electronic wheeled devices move faster than self-propelled scooters and skateboards, causing multiple monthly crashes and near-misses.

Gracie DeVinney, a senior student at GCU, recalls being hit by an electric scooter while walking on campus last year.

[Scooters Skidding and Crashing]

Audio Insert: Gracie DeVinney

IN WORDS: Like the scooter…

…hit my shin, and like I fell to the ground, and I had like a giant bruise for, like, a couple of weeks…

OUT WORDS: ...If not a month.

DURATION: 10 seconds

REPORTER: DeVinney attributes the crash to the scooter's speed, stating that the fast approach gave both DeVinney and the rider less time to react.

Hannah Kicha, a senior and former electronic scooter rider, collided with another electronic scooter last year, causing Kicha to reflect on the dangers of motorized devices.

Insert Audio: Hannah Kicha

IN WORDS: One of the main reasons…

I don’t ride my scooter anymore is because it goes about 20 mph, and if you crash, it

OUT WORDS:…is actually terrible.

DURATION: 10 seconds

REPORTER: For students, witnessing or experiencing near misses and crashes can be a common occurrence on campus.

On Oct. 7, 2024, Public Safety and the Department of Environmental Health and Safety updated the University Policy Handbook to lower accidents and encourage safer riding. The handbook now includes a section on rules for wheeled devices on the ground campus.

New rules for wheeled devices include respecting and walking wheels in pedestrian zones, commonly referred to as dismount zones, riding under 15 mph, having no passengers on wheeled devices and requiring headlight and taillight usage at night.

To accompany the new rules, the departments created a safety campaign that encourages student adoption of the rules through increased signage, speedbumps and student handouts labeled SOS Violations.

Jonathan Howard, Commander of Public Safety, was involved in the handbook changes and in creating the SOS Violations handed out to students.

Audio Insert: Jonathan Howard

IN WORDS: That’s what the SOS is…

…save our scooters because if we can get more people to comply with some of the safety rules, we’ll see accidents go down. We’ll see less injuries, and we’ll be able to continue to use scooters to transport…

OUT WORDS: …ourselves around campus

DURATION: 13 seconds

REPORTER: SOS violations are cards handed to students using wheeled devices in dismount zones. Instead of serving as a fine, the cards educate and inform students of the new rules regarding wheeled devices.

Audio Insert: Jonathan Howard

IN WORDS: There’s no penalty…

…to it. It’s literally just a notification with, as you saw on the back of the card, some of the newly implemented rules and regulations that are really in place just to

OUT WORDS: …keep everybody safer.

DURATION: 12 seconds

REPORTER: Public Safety and the Department of Environmental Health and Safety will educate students this semester on the rules for wheel devices before moving into enforcement.

Audio Insert: Jonathan Howard

IN WORDS: So each semester…

…moving forward, we’ll get more aggressive in moving from education, which will…

OUT WORDS: …continue, but we may move into enforcement.

DURATION: 9 seconds

REPORTER: A semester without enforcement will give students a chance to learn and apply the new rules before there are possible sanctions for those who ignore them.

DeVinney supports the department’s handbook changes and the revitalization of the Colter Circle dismount zone, citing her experience walking on campus with wheeled devices.

Audio Insert: Gracie DeVinney

IN WORDS: I’m for it, I mean…

…I’m a walker. I walk this campus. I’m scared of being hit. I’ve been hit. I’ve almost been hit

OUT WORDS: …multiple times.

DURATION: 9 seconds

REPORTER: But unlike DeVinney, other students are more hesitant to support the changes made, the addition of increased speed bumps in particular.

Sammy Faust, a student skateboarder, claims that the speed bumps at Colter Circle are a nuisance, stating that the bumps cause dismounting students to clog up.

Audio Insert: Sammy Faust

IN WORDS: I am overall…

…not a fan, just because I like being able to ride my board through there without having OUT WORDS: …to stop and walk

DURATION: 6 seconds

REPORTER: Others argue that while the increased number of speed bumps, SOS violations and rules are good for stopping frequent crashes, enforcement is still needed.

Joseph Altnether, an English professor for the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, believes that only with enforcement will students follow the new rules.

Audio Insert: Joseph Altnether

IN WORDS: The rules are great…

…I think the changes they are looking out for student safety. The part, though…

OUT WORDS: …that’s missing is the enforcement.

DURATION: 8 seconds

REPORTER: Similarly, Kicha argues that without enforcement, the rules will not have the same impact on student safety.

IN WORDS: I think it would make it safer…

…but I also think that if they are not gonna enforce that, there’s

OUT WORDS:…no point in having the rule.

DURATION: 6 seconds

REPORTER: Student traffic monitors are leading the way in educating students by handing out SOS violation cards that list the new rules for wheeled devices.

Altnether argues that the student traffic monitors will likely be ignored without the authority to enforce the rules.

Audio Insert: Joseph Altnether

IN WORDS: It’s like hall monitors

…in grade school…

OUT WORDS: …Nobody pays attention to them.

DURATION: 3 seconds

REPORTER: While active enforcement is not currently employed at dismount zones, Howard expresses that both departments want students informed before they are sanctioned.

Audio Insert: Jonathan Howard

IN WORDS: They’re already in policy…

…we’re giving people an opportunity to voluntarily comply before we move…

OUT WORDS: …into an enforcement phase.

DURATION: 7 seconds

REPORTER: Students can consult the University Policy Handbook for more information on the rules regarding wheeled devices. This is Mickey Jackson reporting for GCU News.

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