If you own an electric scooter, chances are you’re worried about it getting stolen. After all, it’s not like it’s cheap, and that in itself makes such scooters an easy target for thieves.
Luckily, there are some simple steps you can take to make sure that your e-scooter stays where it belongs – with you!
In this blog post, we’ll go over some of the best tips and tricks for keeping your e-scooter safe from theft. So if protecting your ride is essential to you, and you don’t want to become another victim of theft, read on!
1. Lock It Up!
The #1 rule of keeping your e-scooter safe is simple: lock it up. If there’s one tip that you’re going to take away from this blog post, let it be this one.
There are a lot of different locks out there that you can use to secure your electric scooters. However, most electric scooter owners use U-Locks or other types of locks that work the same way.
If you use a U-Lock, make sure to loop it through both your e-scooter and whatever object you’re latching it onto. This will prevent thieves from simply picking up your scooter and walking away with it – unless they want to carry around a very bulky lock along with the scooter!
Of course, such effective locks come at a price – but if you can afford one, you should get it. This way, you’ll have the peace of mind that your e-scooter is safe from theft while locked up outside. Worst case scenario, the lock will buy you time to catch a thief – time that you can use to call the cops, for example.
2. Get a Disc Lock
If locks aren’t your thing, perhaps something like a disc lock will be more attractive. It’s basically just a padlock that goes around your e-scooter’s wheel, preventing it from moving when the lock is activated.
Disc locks are also prevalent among electric scooter owners, and while they may not be as secure as U-Locks, they do serve the purpose of stopping scooters from being stolen when you need to take a break.
3. Get an Alarm
If you’re more into alarms than locks, then get yourself an alarm! There are a lot of great alarms out there that, when activated, will emit a loud noise whenever they detect movement.
This is another popular choice among electric scooter owners, as you can attach the alarm to your scooter and basically forget about it – until it goes off! Of course, this method is only good if you happen to hear the alarm, but even if you don’t, someone probably will, and they’ll call the cops for you.
Not to mention, the alarm should scare off any would-be thieves.
4. Purchase a Tracking Device
While alarms are great for stopping thieves in their tracks, what happens when the cops don’t show up in time? You should be prepared for that scenario by getting a tracking device.
There are many trackers out there that you can use to locate your electric scooter if it goes missing. Just place the device inside your scooter’s storage compartment or under its seat, and then you can use your smartphone to locate it using GPS.
When that time comes, you’ll be glad that you’ve installed a tracking device on your e-scooter!
5. Be Careful Where You Park It!
Believe it or not, you can actually make your e-scooter more susceptible to theft by parking it in the wrong place. In other words, just because you can park your scooter anywhere, that doesn’t mean that you should.
In fact, some places are known for having a high number of scooter thefts. That’s why you should do your research beforehand so that you know where to park your e-scooter.
For instance, Reddit has a thread dedicated to electric scooter theft and all things e-scooter related, so you might want to check it out before deciding where to park.
Similarly, you should also get in the habit of looking for signs indicating whether or not it’s safe to park your e-scooter in a certain place. If there are no signs forbidding it, then the chances are good that it’ll be safe – but if there are signs like U-Locks on every single scooter, then stay away!
6. Keep It Parked Under Lights or CCTV
Next, you should consider parking your e-scooter under lights or in areas with CCTV cameras. If there’s a good chance that thieves will get caught on camera when they ride off with your scooter, then that might be enough to dissuade them from stealing it in the first place.
So, where can you park your e-scooter to take advantage of the lights and cameras? Well, as long as it’s legal to do so, you can park your e-scooter just about anywhere – including in front of stores and restaurants! These places usually have cameras and bright lights out front, which you can take advantage of to keep your scooter safe.
Just make sure that the location you pick isn’t too dark at night so that the lights will actually be effective.
7. Don’t Leave Your E-Scooter Outside Unattended
This is the most basic way to protect your e-scooter from being stolen, but it’s also the easiest to execute, making it much more important. Simply, just don’t leave your scooter outside on its own for too long!
Even though you can technically park it anywhere on public property, you should avoid leaving it for too long in isolated areas where nobody will see if somebody does try to take it. The same goes for storing your e-scooter outside overnight, especially when there aren’t any other people around.
We understand that it may be tempting to let your e-scooter sit outside overnight or throughout the day while you go off and do something else – but, again, don’t do it! Just be mindful of how long you leave your scooter unsupervised and try not to do it too often. The longer you leave your scooter unattended, the higher the chances of it getting stolen.
8. Be Careful When You Ride It!
Most electric scooter owners think it’s only their responsibility to park their scooter once they’re done riding it. Yet, the unfortunate reality is that your scooter might be stolen before you even have a chance to make it back!
This is because thieves could easily follow behind you and snatch up your electric scooter as soon as you leave it unattended or stop to take a break. So, while it might be convenient to stop for a quick break, you should only do so when other people are around.
So, if you want to protect your e-scooter from theft while it’s in use, then just be careful when you’re riding around on it by yourself. You can do that by avoiding dark side streets and not stopping unless you have to.
9. Register Your Scooter
Another important step to protect your electric scooters is registration. Registering your scooter provides proof that you’re the original owner and makes it easier for the police to recover it should it be stolen.
Some companies will allow you to register your scooter so that if it does get stolen, they can help you find it. If the company doesn’t offer registration, you could always do this yourself by putting a personalized license plate on your scooter.
10. Park It at Home or in a Garage
If all else fails, then you can always park your e-scooter inside your home! This way, you won’t have to worry about where to store your scooter, and you can keep it locked up so that no one without a key fob can ride it.
Of course, this might not be an option for everyone, but if you live in an apartment building with a secure parking garage, then you can lock up your scooter there and know that it’ll be safe most of the time.
Similarly, you can also opt into a standalone electric scooter garage that lets you park multiple e-scooters inside. These garages are usually locked with a fingerprint scanner and only allow the owner to open them, making them perfect for students or people who live in crowded cities.
The Bottom Line
So, if you want to prevent your electric scooter from getting stolen, then just follow these tips! With the right amount of preparation and vigilance, no one will be able to take off with your e-scooter, and you’ll be able to ride it everywhere throughout the day!
And even if someone does try to steal your e-scooter, there’s a good chance that they won’t succeed! So instead of worrying about theft, try to simply enjoy the perks of owning an electric scooter. After all, you’ve got a lot to be happy about!
