COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KRHD) — Bike and scooter crashes have skyrocketed 432% over the past five years in College Station, prompting local firefighters to sound the alarm on safety as students who rely on these rides daily say they're now on edge.
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A new study from the College Station Fire Department shows crashes between vehicles and scooters or bikes are rising across the city, particularly around the Texas A&M campus.
"I mean, I'm not even surprised. Like, I have seen people crash into each other personally myself," said Edwin George, a Texas A&M student.
At a recent city council meeting, Fire Chief Richard Mann reported the dramatic increase in incidents over the past five years.
"It's very easy to get into a collision if you're not paying attention, for sure, especially at like night too," George said.
Stuart Marrs from the College Station Fire Department identified high-risk areas as locations "anywhere where the students are coming into campus and getting out of campus."
"We see people not wearing helmets. We see people using headphones and earbuds when they're riding micro-mobility. That's just as dangerous as being a distracted driver behind the wheel of your automobile," Marrs said.
The fire department responded to 97 auto-pedestrian incidents in 2025, with 45 of those people taken to local emergency rooms. The sharp increase has students like George and Collin Smitherman paying closer attention to their surroundings.
"It's college. Everyone's tired, overworked, and they got tests, but safety comes first and they have to look both ways," Smitherman said.
Both students say they've witnessed crashes and narrowly avoided becoming part of accidents themselves.
"I've had a couple of close calls. Even almost accidentally hit a car that was just going," George said. "I've seen people fall on the ground and just like scrape their skin on the road. Like, it's awful."
Now, they're urging both drivers and riders to slow down and stay alert before more people get hurt.
"Staying safe is the number one priority," Smitherman said.
George emphasized the collective responsibility: "It's every single person's individual responsibility to make sure that every person is safe."
With so many students using bikes and scooters, both drivers and riders are being urged to slow down and stay alert before more people get hurt.
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