WAUKEE, Iowa– Electric-powered bikes and scooters are just about everywhere you go nowadays. In suburbs across the Des Moines metro, they are becoming a growing source of frustration. In fact, Blank Children’s Hospital said they have seen a more than 1,000 percent increase in Emergency Room visits due to the devices in recent years.

“It’s a big concern in this area, especially,” said Justin Delhotal, who lives in Waukee. “I see a lot of kids that aren’t wearing helmets. I see a lot of kids that are driving fast, just whipping down the road, across the road on these E-bikes.”

Delhotal said he has seen several bad accidents along South Warrior Lane, which stretches through his neighborhood. So many, he said, that he even reached out to the mayor.

“It’s not just when the children are on the E-bike, but it’s people when they’re walking with their kids or they have their pets and things like that, and the kids just aren’t paying attention to what they’re doing,” Delhotal told WHO 13’s Katie Kaplan.

Those concerns have caught the attention of local public safety officials.

Waukee Police Chief Chad McCluskey said the issue comes up every day in his office, but enforcement right now is a challenge.

“A lot of people really don’t understand how complex this issue really is,” he said.

Iowa does not currently have a helmet law, and, he explained that current Iowa laws define E-bikes and similar devices by speed and motor size- typically capped at 20 mph and 750 watts. But many devices exceed those limits, and without clear labels, officers can’t easily tell what they are or where they belong.

“Once a device falls outside those classifications, things get even more complicated,” McCluskey said. “We literally have to go to the state code and say, ‘Okay, it fits this and this, but not this,’ or, ‘It fits this, this and this, but not that,’ and figure out exactly what the definition is and what we’re dealing with.”

Then there is the added challenge of holding children accountable, he said.

“There’s a whole other set of complexities that come with that. And depending on what the age of the kid is, whether we can even enforce something against them or not. And then, depending on their age, whether we can write them a ticket or if it has to be a what’s called a ‘Civil Citation’ or some simple misdemeanor,” he said.

McCluskey said efforts are being made to fix the issue. Police chiefs across the state are banding together to find solutions and keep people safe.

“We are working, the metro chiefs group as well as the state chiefs association, is working on, some potential legislation or ordinance wording that maybe we can share across and get everybody kind of on the same page,” said McCluskey.

However, those efforts are still in the early stages. In the meantime, McCluskey said education and parental involvement are key.

“We need parents’ help because they’re the first line of defense with their kids,” said McCluskey.

That is something Delhotal agrees with.

“Parents just have to be more, like telling your kids how they should be behaving on these bikes and watching the road and things like that because it… it’s super dangerous,” he said.

Until clearer laws are in place, both residents and police say one thing is certain- safety starts at home.