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Meta Description: E-scooters, though highly popular, are not perfectly safe when it comes to accidents, in this article we will explore the risk of injury for riders and much more.
While most see e-scooters as a safe and environmentally mode of transportation, the perfect antidote to the lead and poisonous gases being pumped into the atmosphere, it too comes with problems of its own. We’ll give you the environmentally friendly part, that much is indeed true, but as for safety, there’s much to be desired.
The design of such rides is a cause of concern for many who feel that all rides should have adequate safety features and cushioning to tone down the impact of a collision. But you won’t see either in electric scooters, and it’s not that these features are not needed as much in these vehicles, it’s just impossible to add them.
But to make up for that, riders can wear safety gear, right?
Well, yes, and they should, but as we’ll see, most of them don’t.
In this article, we will explore the risk of injuries faced by e-scooter riders, the type of injuries possible, and related details.
Well, we already mentioned the environment-friendly part which is more than true. But there’s much more than that in e-scooters. Firstly, they are not that costly which makes them perfect for anyone seeking a private ride but not having enough to go for something big.
There’s only a minimal learning curve, just a couple of trips and you’ll be riding the thing like a pro.
And then there are the looks which appeal most buyers since everyone wants their ride to have a sleek and stylish design.
Being ultra-convenient and non-expensive, these e-scooters have hit the market with a bang.
Many business startups have begun pumping in more and more products in the market to meet consumer demands. Enterprises like Uber have also bought on the idea by introducing electric scooter rental facility for public transport – easy, effective and cost efficient (although the possibility of being in a rental scooter accident is not very inviting).
But there is another side to all of this too: e-scooters are not perfectly safe.
Though sleek and stylish in appearance, the minimalistic design of e-scooters means that safety features are non-existent.
A 2018 study conducted over the course of three months by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, hand in hand with the Public Health and Transportation departments (from various cities) in Texas, presented valuable insights into the risks associated with e-scooters. Researchers concluded that the risk of accidents and serious injuries on e-scooters was highly elevated.
Through endless data plotting and calculations, the researchers determined that for every 100,000 e-scooter trips taken, 20 individuals faced injuries. And that’s not all, half of these injured individuals reported severe head injuries which can lead to traumatic brain injuries.
Most of these injuries, the researchers noted, could’ve been prevented by wearing appropriate safety equipment, especially helmets. But since people are not legally required to wear helmets after a certain age, it is understandable why a huge fraction of e-scooter riders chooses not to wear them.
This means that the risk and severity of head injuries are only worsened, leading to life-long issues and even deaths.
Another risk factor associated with e-scooters is that they are mostly used in busy metropolitan areas where the traffic density is high and thus the risk of accidents is also elevated.
Let’s take some time to explore why these accidents happen in the first place.
This way, we’ll be better able to suggest how injuries and accidents on e-scooters can be prevented or at least made much less likely to happen. All accidents, whether they involved large commercial vehicles, cars, or humble scooters, result more or less due to negligence on part of one or more parties.
It may be anyone directly or indirectly involved with the accident; crashes don’t occur spontaneously, they are driven by negligence.
Some examples are:
And so on…
The point is that there is always someone to blame when a motor vehicle accident happens, and an electric scooter collision is no different.
Since they can travel at speeds as high as 15 mph (the maximum speed for some models from a premium e-scooter company like Mini Motors may be much higher), e-scooters are indeed dangerous. They are simply too fast for using the sidewalk but at the same time, they lag miserably behind the speed limit of the road.
On the road, these e-scooters are only as fast as a snail trying to outrun a tidal wave (of cars). The best practice would be to use the bike lanes and sidewalks (very responsibly) but this may not always be an option, or the electric scooter rider may simply choose not to do so (negligence towards duty).
Thus e-scooter injuries happen because of negligence.
As noted earlier, most electric scooter riders choose not to wear safety gear and helmets because the law does not bind them here, which is a serious concern of transport experts. Ideally, the law should make it a punishable offense to not wear helmets, but that’s not the case at the moment.
This means that any blow to the head, even if moderately intense, can cause some degree of brain trauma. The rest of the body is no less at threat, but the head is especially sensitive to blunt force trauma which can be fatal too.
Some common e-scooter injuries include:
There is only a small distance between losing your balance to losing your life on one of these things, thus precautions are not optional, they are imperative.
Even in non-fatal cases, landing a severe injury is still very probable.
Just a PS, even a minor injury to the brain can have some serious effects later on, so it is best to seek medical care as soon as possible.
Since most of the injuries happen because of the lack of adequate safety gear (the injuries wouldn’t be that severe otherwise), it would be wise to at least wear a helmet for your precious head.
Though helmets don’t make accidents less or more likely to happen, they do provide the much needed cushioning against a blow to the head.
Being attentive while riding the scooter and especially being mindful about the vehicle drivers around you is also important. Even if you are acting responsibly, don’t expect others to do so as well, be extra careful.
You should also get your e-scooter tested just in case because design flaws and defects have been known to factor in causing serious crashes.
Lastly, and most importantly, stay off the city streets, as much as you can, use the bike lane wherever possible, or keep your scooters on sidewalks as a second option, just stay off the roads.
As an e-scooter rider, driving does not come without its set of responsibilities and dangers, you should be mindful of both, hope for the best, and surely nothing bad will happen.
But if it ever does, you’ll have to prepare yourself for the legal battle that awaits and contact a scooter accident lawyer as soon as possible.
There are no guarantees of safety on the road, even if you act with due diligence, you may still be harmed by someone’s negligence, and we know just how stressful the experience can be victims.
E-scooter crashes are more frequent than most people believe (even if you’re perfectly vigilant and careful), and if you do happen to find yourself in such a situation, you should not step down, instead, you must take the legal battle to the at-fault party.
Your goals must be to secure maximum compensation for the property damage, medical expenses, and other losses that you had to bear. For that, you'll have to seek legal consultation form an experienced personal injury attorney from day one.
Most people are unsure about whether they can afford to hire personal injury lawyers or not, and this is indeed a genuine concern amid such troubling times even if there is no doubt that you do need legal representation to stand a chance in your case..
This is why the lawyers at the Calhoun Meredith law firm offer their services to clients without seeking any upfront payments or an advance on their fees. This is called the contingency-free plan and the rule is simple: no win, no pay – it’s that simple!
Give us a call today, and we’ll handle the rest.