
Head injuries, broken bones plague e-scooter users as more data rolls in - kurthr
https://arstechnica.com/cars/2019/05/head-injuries-broken-bones-plague-e-scooter-users-as-more-data-rolls-in/
======
wjossey
Some of the data they’re citing is clearly going to be misleading.

I was clipped, buzzed, and hit by numerous escooters while living in central
LA last year. In each of those situations, I didn’t report it because they
have no discernible license plate for identification, and the rider typically
just zooms off at a high rate of speed.

The one time I reported rider(s) to the company was when a hoard of underaged
kids decided it would be funny to throw elbows at a guy (me) carrying
groceries home while they blew past.

Last summer, I was training my puppy to walk on leash. She’s an off the charts
brave and confident dog, but she’s no match for the scooters. After getting
nearly hit half a dozen times, if she sees a scooter coming towards us, she
drafts in behind me out of fear and concern.

I get why we want these scooters, but I think the statistics undervalue /
don’t account for the general nuisance level behavior they can create for
regular pedestrians, which don’t reach the threshold of injury or death.

~~~
clairity
bad behavior isn't a function of mode of transportation. i live in central LA,
but never been hit by a scooter yet have been hit by a car. i recently had to
yell at some teens who were being bad while on foot. so why single out
scooters?

~~~
wjossey
> so why single out scooters?

Because I've lived in major cities (Boston & LA) for the past nine years, and
have never had any concerns about my safety on sidewalks until scooters came
around (and to a lesser extent dockless bike riders). Seems like the root
cause to me.

~~~
nojvek
Basically if something can go faster than running speed, it should not be
allowed on sidewalks. Go use the goddamn road.

If something goes faster than a bicycle. It needs a license plate.

------
jseliger
Meanwhile, death plagues motor vehicle users (and pedestrians) as more data
rolls in:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motor_vehicle_fatality_rate_in...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motor_vehicle_fatality_rate_in_U.S._by_year)

I read a funny tweet, "at this point i don't think i've heard a single
critique of e-scooters that couldn't be more accurately applied to cars."
[https://twitter.com/drooliet/status/1123618317464416257](https://twitter.com/drooliet/status/1123618317464416257)

~~~
elipsey
>> a single critique of e-scooters that couldn't be more accurately applied to
cars

Operating at high speed on narrow sidewalks. I have been clipped while walking
in physically confined sidewalk areas, by a scooter moving at a dangerously
high speed (amazingly, he yelled at me for being in his way). It would have
been hard to do this even with a bicycle because the handlebars are wider.
This could easily have ended in serious injury.

I don't object to the existance of e-scooters, but I think the ease with which
they allow riders to operate at wreckless speeds in confined pedestrian lanes
is novel, and probably needs to be addressed somehow.

------
sschueller
It's like every week there is a new company with their escooters here is
Zürich, Switzerland.

Biggest irony is that two of the companies are from Berlin (Flash and Tier)
yet in Germany these scooters are currently against the law and they cannot
operate in their country.

Lime seems to have disappeared after there was a serious accident because of
some firmware issue that would engage the park brake at full speed.

Is it actually profitable if you can only operate half the year?

------
astazangasta
These were like a rash in PDX last summer but did not appear to last the
winter. I haven't seen one in months. I declare this fad dead.

~~~
ortuna
Look again, they are back. City did a trial for 3 or 4 companies and gave a
permit to 2 this time around. So they’re back for a while.

