TORONTO — A dashcam video shared by Waterloo Regional Police showing an e-scooter rider weaving through traffic at high speed on a busy expressway has gone viral, underscoring the dangers highlighted in a new report that found six Ontario children among 10 young people killed in e-scooter and e-bike crashes across Canada last year.The undated footage, posted by Waterloo Regional Police to their Facebook and Instagram accounts, captures a person on an e-scooter travelling at excessive speed alongside full-sized vehicles on the Conestoga Expressway (Highway 7/8) near Ottawa Street in Kitchener. The rider crosses two lanes of traffic, weaves between vehicles to change lanes, and is passed by other cars on the four-lane controlled-access highway.“This is not where an e-scooter belongs,” police wrote. “This video captures an e-scooter travelling at an excessive speed on the expressway alongside full-sized vehicles.” They added: “At high speeds, riders have little time to react to vehicles, children, animals, or other unexpected hazards. One wrong move could have devastating consequences.”The expressway is patrolled by the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP). OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt confirmed officers are aware of the video..Under Ontario’s e-scooter pilot program, the devices are limited to a maximum speed of 24 km/h and are banned from controlled-access highways, including 400-series routes and the QEW. Riders must be at least 16 years old, remain standing at all times, and cannot carry passengers or cargo. Even on roads where e-scooters are permitted, they must stay in a bicycle lane or, if none exists, along the right shoulder or as close to the edge as possible. Fines for violations range from $250 to $2,500.The video arrives days after the Canadian Paediatric Surveillance Program reported ten children and teens died from e-scooter and e-bike injuries in Canada in 2025 — six of them in Ontario. The same study documented 12 intensive care admissions and 26 prolonged hospital stays.At Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children, e-scooter-related emergency visits rose from 26 in 2023 to 107 in 2025. Dr. Daniel Rosenfield, a pediatric emergency physician at SickKids, has said staff prepare for severe trauma whenever they receive a call about an incoming e-scooter patient, noting the vast majority of injured young riders are unhelmeted.Waterloo Regional Police noted that while the highway falls under OPP jurisdiction, local and provincial rules still prohibit e-scooters from controlled-access roads.
