A recent collision involving a student riding a scooter and a vehicle on the University of Tennessee at Martin campus has raised questions about whether current safety measures are enough to protect students who use scooters and bicycles as transportation.

The university needs to go beyond telling students and drivers to be more careful. UT Martin should consider adding dedicated pathways for scooters and bicycles. If scooters and bikes are going to remain a common way for students to get around campus, the infrastructure should reflect that reality.

For some students, scooters and bicycles are a convenient way to get around campus. For others, they have become a source of concern, particularly when riders and pedestrians share crowded sidewalks and crossings.

Korri Campbell, a UT Martin junior majoring in health and human performance, believes the university has made improvements to protect students who use scooters and bicycles.

“I do believe they have upgraded their measurements by adding the additional attention to the crosswalks with the flashing lights as a signal,” Campbell said.

Campbell said students also have a responsibility to pay attention. She said she has seen students wearing headphones while walking and others riding scooters while using their phones, which can make it harder to control the scooter.

Campbell believes designated bike or scooter lanes could make students feel more comfortable and safer while traveling around campus. She also said scooters and bicycles are legitimate forms of transportation for students who do not have cars.

However, not every student believes current measures are enough.

Hannah Newman, a UT Martin senior majoring in dance education, said she frequently feels unsafe when walking around campus because of scooters.

“Every single time I walk somewhere on campus, I feel a ‘whoosh’ inches from me, and it’s a scooter about to take me out,” said Newman.

Newman said she has had friends pull her out of the way of scooters and has done the same for others. She said students frequently discuss close calls in group chats.

Newman said the university should consider designated scooter and bike lanes, although she questioned whether campus has enough space for additional lanes. She also suggested requiring scooters to be registered and for riders to complete a safety test or agreement.

Newman said she has not experienced the same problems with bicycles and specifically identified scooters as the main issue she has encountered.

Aniya Stokes, a Martin resident who drives through campus four to five times a week, said she has also witnessed dangerous situations involving students on scooters and bicycles.

Stokes said nighttime can make it harder for drivers to see students when crosswalk lights do not begin flashing soon enough. She believes drivers should pay closer attention, while students should also look both ways before crossing.

Stokes also mentioned that the recent collision is a sign that current roads, crosswalks and signage do not do enough to protect students and drivers.

As scooters become a regular form of transportation on campus, is telling students and drivers to be more careful enough? In my opinion, it is not. UT Martin should look at adding safer pathways for scooters and bicycles and creating driving routes that reduce conflicts with students.

Adding designated pathways and traffic lights would not only benefit students riding scooters and bicycles, but it could also give drivers and pedestrians clearer spaces to travel, reducing the amount of interaction between vehicles, riders and people walking. Instead of expecting everyone to navigate the same limited spaces, the university should design campus routes with each form of transportation in mind.

Students should not have to choose between convenient transportation and feeling safe on their way to class.