E-Bike and Scooter Accidents in Utah

Short answer: Utah’s helmet law now expressly covers e-bikes and motorized scooters: riders under 21 must wear a helmet on a highway, with an exception for a class 1 e-bike or a scooter rented from a business, but for a rider of any age, not wearing one cannot be used as fault or as evidence in an injury lawsuit. If a car hits you, Utah’s insurance code treats you as a pedestrian, not a driver, so PIP and uninsured motorist coverage can pay even though you were not in a car.

E-bikes and scooters are everywhere along the Wasatch Front, and the injuries from a collision with a car are rarely minor. Here is how Utah law treats these crashes.

What Utah Law Counts as an E-Bike or a Scooter

Statutory definitions decide how the law treats your ride (Utah Code 41-6a-102). An e-bike has working pedals, a motor of 750 watts or less, and a class: class 1 and class 2 stop helping at 20 mph (class 2 can run without pedaling), and class 3 at 28 mph. A motor assisted scooter, like most rentals, tops out at 20 mph. A device that can pass 20 mph on its motor alone is generally a “high power electric device,” and so is an e-bike altered for more speed or power. Those lines matter because the insurance statutes borrow them.

Where You Can Ride, and How Fast

E-bikes and motor assisted scooters generally follow the rules for bicycles (41-6a-1115.5, 41-6a-1115). An e-bike may use any path or trail designated for bicycles. Sidewalks are a local question: cities may restrict e-bikes, or certain classes, on sidewalks, paths and trails, and decide whether scooters may use sidewalks and how fast (41-6a-1115.1). Where it is allowed, you must yield to people on foot; an adult may not ride where a sign or ordinance forbids it (41-6a-1106).

Statewide, a scooter may not exceed 15 mph or be ridden in a public parking structure. No one under 16 may ride a class 3 e-bike, an e-bike rider under 14 needs a parent’s supervision to use the motor, and a child under 8 may not use the motor on either device. A 2026 amendment changes these age rules on May 5, 2027.

Utah’s Helmet Rule for E-Bikes and Scooters

Under Utah Code 41-6a-1505, as amended in the 2026 legislative session (effective May 6, 2026), a person under 21 may not operate or ride any of the following on a highway without an approved helmet: a motorcycle, an electric assisted bicycle, a motor assisted scooter, a high power electric device, or an autocycle that is not fully enclosed.

There is one notable exception. The helmet requirement does not apply to someone operating a class 1 electric assisted bicycle or a motor assisted scooter rented from a business. A violation is an infraction, and for an e-bike or scooter the fine cannot exceed $25.

Not Wearing a Helmet Can’t Be Used Against You

This is the part that matters most after a crash. Subsection (6) of the same statute says that failing to wear a helmet “does not constitute contributory or comparative negligence” and “may not be introduced as evidence in any civil litigation on the issue of negligence, injuries, or the mitigation of damages.”

In plain terms: an insurer cannot argue that your recovery should be cut because you weren’t wearing a helmet, and that fact is not supposed to reach the jury at all. The protection applies whatever your age. If an adjuster raises it, that is a sign to get advice.

When a Car Hits You

A driver who causes a crash with an e-bike or scooter rider is responsible the same way they would be for hitting another car. The driver’s liability insurance is usually the main source of payment, and Utah’s minimum is only $30,000 per person (Utah Code 31A-22-304), which a serious injury can exceed quickly.

Fault is shared under Utah’s comparative fault rule (Utah Code 78B-5-818): your recovery is reduced by your share of fault, and you recover nothing unless the other side’s fault is greater than yours. Expect the insurer to focus on your speed, lane position, lights and whether you were visible.

PIP: The Insurance Code Treats You as a Pedestrian

Utah’s auto insurance statutes take their definition of “motor vehicle” from the traffic code, which leaves out e-bikes and motor assisted scooters, and they define a pedestrian as any natural person not occupying a motor vehicle (31A-22-301). On a true e-bike or scooter, you are a pedestrian for insurance purposes. Your household’s PIP covers you in any accident involving a motor vehicle; without one, the striking car’s PIP does (31A-22-308). It pays at least $3,000 in medical expenses regardless of fault (31A-22-307), and riding an e-bike is not among the few exclusions the statute allows (31A-22-309). To claim pain and suffering from the driver, you generally need over $3,000 in medical bills or a listed injury such as a fracture. More in our no-fault guide.

Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage

If the driver is uninsured, underinsured, or drives away, your own coverage can matter. A hit-and-run driver who is never identified is treated as an uninsured motorist under Utah law (Utah Code 31A-22-305). Uninsured motorist coverage protects the named insured and resident relatives, and is tied to the listed vehicle only when the injured person is occupying or using a motor vehicle, which a rider is not. A covered person hurt as a pedestrian may also claim under one more policy, for both UM and UIM (31A-22-305.3). See our guide to underinsured motorist claims and our hit-and-run guide.

Arguments Insurers Make, and the Honest Answers

“You were operating a motor vehicle.” Some adjusters treat an e-bike rider like a motorcyclist, who gets no PIP (31A-22-302). For a device within the definitions, the code disagrees: an e-bike or scooter is neither a motor vehicle nor a motorcycle. The argument has force only for a device outside them, such as a throttle bike that passes 20 mph on the motor; sellers of those must warn buyers it is a motor vehicle their insurance may not cover (41-6a-1115.5).

“You broke a riding rule.” A violation shifts fault only if it helped cause the crash; riding slightly fast does not excuse a driver who turned left without looking.

Rented and Shared Scooters

Shared scooters and e-bikes add a layer: the rental company’s terms of use, its records, and sometimes the condition of the device itself. The app typically logs when and where a ride started and ended, which can help show exactly where a crash happened. Save your ride history and take photos of the scooter or bike before it is collected, including the identification number every shared scooter must display (41-6a-1115.1).

Lime, Bird and similar apps usually require a liability release, individual arbitration and prompt crash reports. Utah courts generally enforce a clear pre-injury release of ordinary negligence (Penunuri v. Sundance Partners, 2013 UT 22), but not one that is unclear or offends public policy (Rothstein v. Snowbird Corp., 2007 UT 96). Either way, the waiver does not release a driver who hit you. Scooter-share operators must also carry at least $1 million per occurrence in liability coverage.

Battery Fires, Brake Failures and Other Defects

Failed brakes, a cracked fork, a stuck throttle or a battery fire can support a product liability claim against the maker or seller, or against a rental company that maintains the fleet. A suit under Utah’s Product Liability Act must be filed within two years after you discover, or should have discovered, the harm and its cause (Utah Code 78B-6-706). Keep the device, battery and charger as they were. See our product liability page and two-year deadline article.

Solo Crashes and Road Defects: Who Pays When No Car Is Involved

PIP requires an accident involving a motor vehicle, so a solo fall usually goes through health insurance first.

If a road defect, construction zone or poorly maintained bike lane played a part, the claim may be against a city, county or the state. Utah waives immunity for a defective or dangerous road, sidewalk or crosswalk, with exceptions (Utah Code 63G-7-301). Those claims require a written notice of claim within one year (Utah Code 63G-7-402), far shorter than the usual deadline, and suit must be filed within two years after the claim arises, not after the notice (63G-7-403). Damages are capped at inflation-adjusted amounts, so the current figure has to be checked (63G-7-604). A hazard on private property points to the owner instead.

Evidence and Deadlines

• Photos of the scene, the vehicle, your device and your injuries.
• The police report and case number, and the names of any witnesses.
• Your ride history if the device was rented, and any helmet or bike camera footage.
• Prompt medical care and records that tie your injuries to the crash.
• The device itself, including the e-bike’s required label listing its class, top assisted speed and wattage.

Most Utah injury claims must be filed within four years (Utah Code 78B-2-307), but government claims, defective product claims and wrongful death claims (78B-2-304) have much shorter deadlines. See our guide to Utah injury deadlines, and our damages overview for what a claim can include. For related situations, read about bicycle accident claims in Utah, motorcycle accident claims and our Provo bicycle accident page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I recover if I was riding on the sidewalk?

Often, yes. Where it is allowed, you have a pedestrian’s rights and duties. Where a city bans it, the insurer will argue shared blame, which reduces a recovery but ends it only if your share is at least as large as the other side’s.

My teenager was hurt on an e-bike. Does our auto policy help?

Usually. Your uninsured motorist coverage protects a dependent minor child, and your PIP covers relatives in your household. The teen’s age may become a fault argument, but it does not excuse a careless driver.

What if my e-bike had been modified?

It becomes a high power electric device, which gives the insurer its best argument that you were operating a motor vehicle. Get advice before giving a recorded statement.

Talk to a Utah Personal Injury Attorney

E-bike and scooter crashes raise questions ordinary car claims don’t: whose policy covers you, what the rental company’s records show, and how to answer a helmet argument the law does not allow. An attorney reviews every case at intake, and once you sign, the firm handles all communication with the insurance companies.

Hurt in Utah? Contact West Injury Law for a free case review by phone, video or in person. You pay nothing up front, and no attorney fees unless we win. Hablamos Español.