Congress orders safety study on e-scooters and e-bikes to protect kids

What it does

This bill directs the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to study how micromobility devices—e-bikes, e-scooters, electric skateboards, and similar low-speed personal transportation—affect injuries and deaths, particularly among children and young adults. Based on the study, NHTSA must develop best practices and a public education program to help riders safely navigate streets, including information on device speeds, state regulations, and helmet requirements. The bill also adds micromobility safety to federal highway safety grant programs.

Why we flagged it

The bill's operative mechanism is a fact-finding study and subsequent public education program on micromobility safety. It does not regulate, restrict, or subsidize any party; it gathers data and informs the public—a classic public-health information measure.

What the text implies

• The study may reveal that certain micromobility devices or manufacturers pose disproportionate safety risks, potentially informing future state or federal regulation—but the bill itself does not regulate.
• By defining 'high speed personal transportation devices' as those exceeding 750 watts or 20 mph, the bill creates a regulatory taxonomy that may be adopted in future safety or licensing rules.
• The Safe System Approach (a traffic-safety framework emphasizing shared responsibility) may shift liability or safety expectations toward infrastructure and drivers, not just riders—a subtle reframing of road-safety accountability.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

The bill creates a factual foundation (a study) and public education on an emerging transportation mode that poses real safety risks to vulnerable users, particularly children. It does not impose new restrictions on riders or manufacturers, only requires information-gathering and safety education—measures that typically reduce injuries without limiting access or imposing costs on ordinary people.

Named in the bill

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Department of Transportation (DOT), Congress, electric bicycle manufacturers, electric scooter manufacturers, state transportation agencies

Where it stands

1 cosponsor: 1 Democrats.

• Dec 12, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Dec 12, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

1 lobbying clients named this bill on 2 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $813,627 in lobbying spend. A filing names 48 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.

Dina Titus, the sponsor, reported $775,196 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• International Brotherhood of Teamsters — $813,627 on 2 filings

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.