There is a reason so many ads are out there telling people to “Look Twice for Motorcycles”. They are exposed and do not have all the safety features of a car. There are no airbags or seatbelts. If a motorcyclist is involved in an accident, the odds of it being serious are great. This same principle applies to the electric scooters popping up in cities across the country. These scooters, while a fun and convenient way to travel short distances, can be very dangerous – especially when sharing the road with other automobiles. Over the weekend, a young woman in Cleveland was struck and killed while operating one of these scooters. The crash happened around 10 p.m. on East 9th Street near St. Clair Avenue.
This news highlights the real and present dangers of these electric scooters and explains why many cities have asked that Bird, Lime, and other similar companies remove the scooters until regulations could be considered and implemented. According to Bird’s user agreement, these scooters are not supposed to be ridden after dark, likely due to the lack of lights. This begs the question – why was this scooter still available for riders to use? Both Bird and Lime state the scooters are GPS monitored and collected at night to be charged. They are then placed throughout the city again in the morning. If sunset was shortly after 8:30 p.m. in Cleveland, shouldn’t this scooter have been picked up for charging? Couldn’t Bird or Lime disable the scooters once the sun goes down?
There are many questions still to be answered involving this crash, but one thing is certain – this will not be the only severe crash involving these scooters. If you or a loved one has been injured while riding one of these electric scooters, contact our office and ask to speak to one of our attorneys to see if we can be of assistance.
UPDATE – 8/20/2018:
Police released additional information indicating this electric scooter was an Icon Q electric scooter equipped with headlights and brake lights, and not one of the dockless, GPS enabled scooters from Bird or Lime.