HAVERFORD TOWNSHIP (KYW Newsradio) — Kids under the age of 16 are now required to wear helmets while riding electric scooters and e-bikes in Haverford Township after officials passed a new ordinance Monday night.
The measure was approved months after a Delaware County girl was killed while riding a scooter.
The Haverford Township Board of Commissioners voted to approve the ordinance during Monday’s meeting.
“We were also seeing just an uptick in kids using e-scooters and e-bikes, and we were looking to the state for their regulations and really couldn’t find anything that was helpful to us, and so we started thinking outside the box,” Commissioner Judy Trombetta said to NBC 10.
There is a grace period to start; first, the police will issue warnings for not wearing a helmet. Then, starting January 1st, 2026, there will be a $25 fine.
“When we stop a juvenile, we have to notify their parents. We’re required to do this,” Haverford Township Police Chief John Viola explained to NBC 10.
“We’ll notify the parents that we have their child stopped, and we will issue a citation to the home address - we won’t give it to the child,”
One of the catalysts for this new ordinance is the death of 12-year-old Abigail “Abby” Gillon. She was riding an electric scooter in Aston, Delaware County, in June and was killed in a crash involving a car. Her best friend was badly hurt and spent a month in the hospital.
The Montgomery County Board of Commissioners also cited that incident when voting to triple the fine for e-bike violations on county trails last month.
Gillon’s family has also been working with Pennsylvania State Senator Tim Kearney, who announced that he would introduce “Abby’s Law” to beef up electric scooter safety legislation in the state.