Significant injuries from “e-scooter use”??
Two pedestrians this week were hospitalised by a pickup truck driver in Toronto during their “sidewalk use”.
I had a coworker that fell off his e-scooter twice in two weeks. Ended up with a broken arm. Turns out roads in the US are shit, which is why we recommended a bike to begin with.
He was saved from serious injury because he was wearing a helmet. It’s not even controversial to say that if you don’t wear a helmet while riding a bike, scooter, skateboard, or any other wheeled vehicle that doesn’t fully encase you, you run a real risk of hitting your head and actually dying.
It is super weird how defensive some people get about the helmet thing.
This is not an e-scooters vs cars issue. Just a safety advice. Anything that goes fast is a bit dangerous.
Well yeah, scooters cause lots of injuries. so do bikes, skateboards, whatever. That’s life. As an EMT I saw a teenager superman off an escooter(I guess the front wheel hit a rock or something)… broke a wrist, a jaw, and a collarbone. Surely a concussion as well.
But that doesn’t mean they aren’t useful or responsible gifts, you just need a helmet and to actually learn how to ride the thing.
And you dont give cars to children, so the comparison there is not relevant.
That said, painting scooters as an irresponsible gift is a bad look.
you just need a helmet and to actually learn how to ride the thing.
You learn how to ride the thing on a battery-less version, which is what the poster recommends.
I would also say “you need to learn how to ride the thing… responsibly.” Anyone can learn the basics. It takes time to build a habit of safe riding, both for the rider as well as for other riders and pedestrians.
And you dont give cars to children, so the comparison there is not relevant.
Right, the more apt comparison is that you don’t use a Dodge Viper to teach people to drive.
Pedantic. Learning how to ride an escooter can be achieved in many ways. You detail one. I agree that is a sound way to learn.
Responsible riding is riding, in the context I was obviously discussing.
Op discussed a car hitting pedestrians as a comparison to the danger of scooters, which is what I was calling irrelevant re giving to children.
Cool cool. If the batteries are the problem I’ll just use a gasoline one. That’s safer, right?
Kids frankly can get around just fine on a bike without a motor, this isn’t saying that active transportation is bad.
I can’t speak for everywhere, but back in college, people would zoom across on their scooters with no regard for safety. Down the hills, through pedestrian crowds, on the road, etc. They also never wear safety gear too.
I know a friend who fell really badly because they needed to brake hard since the car in an intersection pulled up too far. Luckily she just needed a lot of bandages and ointment for about a month.
I’m not saying e scooters are a bad thing, but roads in the US are not built for them (esp since bike lanes are not well maintained) and people do not wear gear for the fall
