St. Petersburg police remind riders about scooter safety following deadly crash

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - St. Petersburg police are reminding riders about scooter safety, especially as fans are expected to flock to the city for the Rays’ home playoff games. 

In September, an 81-year-old woman died from her injuries after getting hit by an electric scooter. The victim was walking on the sidewalk.

 READ: 81-year-old woman dead after being struck by electric scooter in St. Pete: police

"We're going to try to do what we can to prevent it from happening again," St. Pete police Sgt. Michael Schade said.

There are two city ordinances that, if violated, carry fines up to $500, Schade told FOX 13. 

First, only one rider per scooter is allowed. And second, electric scooters are not permitted on the sidewalk: Riders must ride them in bike lanes or on streets with a speed limit of 30 mph or less.

"You're supposed to go with the flow of traffic. So when you're on these scooters, it's basically the same rules of the road as riding a bicycle. You just need to pay attention to what those are: Stop signs, red lights, handling all those types of intersections the same way," Schade said.

Some people – who have ridden electric scooters before -- told FOX 13 one advantage of them is that they’re cheaper than taking an Uber. But pedestrians said they’re scared of getting hit on the sidewalk even though scooters are not allowed to be there.

READ: Pinellas County officials warn bikers that stop signs are not suggestions

With the Rays playing at least two home playoff games this week and big crowds expected to flood the area, police want riders to know they’ll be watching.

"We're going to have officers out there doing patrols during the game. They're going to be looking for this kind of stuff," Schade shared. "We obviously don't want people riding these things while they're impaired."

Police told FOX 13 they’ve had conversations with scooter companies about disabling accounts for anyone who breaks the rules, meaning that that riders would no longer be able to rent a scooter.