Guest essay by Eric Worrall
Climate friendly urban e-scooters have caused a 365% surge in hospital admissions, according to a recently published UCSF Study. And an increase in CO2 emissions.
Eggheads have crunched the numbers and the results are in: It’s not just your dignity you lose with e-scooters, life and limb are in peril, too
If you’re thinking of riding one of those things, wear a helmet
By Katyanna Quach 8 Jan 2020 at 21:39
There were nearly 40,000 electric scooter injuries in the United States between 2014 and 2018, according to a study published in the journal JAMA Surgery on Wednesday.
Specifically, in 2014, there were 4,582 injuries, and by 2018, that annual figure stood at 14,651 – that’s a 222 per cent surge over the four-year period.
The number of hospital admissions from accidents also skyrocketed to almost 3,300, a surge of 365 per cent, over the same period. The survey, conducted by researchers at UC San Francisco, analyzed data taken from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, a project led by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission to monitor the safety of consumer gizmos.
…
Read more: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/01/08/electric_scooter_injuries/
The abstract of the study;
The e-merging e-pidemic of e-scooters
Leslie M Kobayashi, Elliot Williams, Carlos V Brown, Brent J Emigh, Vishal Bansal, Jayraan Badiee, Kyle D Checchi, Edward M Castillo, Jay Doucet
Introduction Since their release in 2017, standing electric motorized scooters (eScooters) have risen in popularity as an alternative mode of transportation. We sought to examine the incidence of injury, injury patterns, prevalence of helmet and drug and alcohol use in eScooter trauma.
Methods This was a multi-institutional retrospective case series of patients admitted for injuries related to operation of an eScooter following the widespread release of these devices in September 2017 (September 1, 2017 to October 31, 2018). Demographics, drug and alcohol use, helmet use, admission vitals, injuries, procedures, hospital and intensive care unit length of stay (LOS), death, and disposition were analyzed.
Results 103 patients were admitted during the study period, and monthly admissions increased significantly over time. Patients were young men (mean age 37.1 years; 65% male), 98% were not wearing a helmet. Median LOS was 1 day (IQR 1–3). 79% of patients were tested for alcohol and 48% had a blood alcohol level >80 mg/dL. 60% of patients had a urine toxicology screen, of which 52% were positive. Extremity fractures were the most frequent injury (42%), followed by facial fractures (26%) and intracranial hemorrhage (18%). Median Injury Severity Score was 5.5 (IQR 5–9). One-third of patients (n=34) required an operative intervention, the majority of which were open fixations of extremity and facial fractures. No patients died during the study. The majority of patients were discharged home (86%).
Conclusion eScooter-related trauma has significantly increased over time. Alcohol and illicit substance use among these patients was common, and helmet use was extremely rare. Significant injuries including intracranial hemorrhage and fractures requiring operative intervention were present in over half (51%) of patients. Interventions aimed at increasing helmet use and discouraging eScooter operation while intoxicated are necessary to reduce the burden of eScooter-related trauma.
Read more: https://tsaco.bmj.com/content/4/1/e000337
OK, so we have lots of drunk, drug crazed people zipping about causing serious accidents. But what about the e-scooter’s green credentials?
How green are dockless e-scooters?
By JOSHUA EMERSON SMITH NOV. 5, 2019 7:48 PM
Dockless e-scooter companies have for roughly two years touted their devices as not only convenient but also a win for the environment.
But a growing body of research suggests that the scooter craze may not be as green as advertised.
To change that, experts say, companies such as Lime, Bird and Wheels must manufacture more robust e-scooters while riders need to increasingly use those devices in lieu of driving. According to studies, many people are cruising around on e-scooters as an alternative to cleaner forms of transportation, such as biking, walking and taking the bus.
Still, experts say the fast-evolving industry has the potential to revolutionize urban travel and significantly reduce planet-warming emissions.
…
Data starting to emerge from cities around the country seem to contradict that testimony. About 40% of scooter rides have replaced biking or walking trips in San Francisco and Portland, Ore., according to recent municipal surveys.
A survey from Paris was even more grim, finding that 85% of scooter rides replaced either walking, biking or public transit trips.
…
Read more: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-11-05/how-green-are-dockless-e-scooters
Lots of drunk, drug crazed people zipping about causing serious accidents, and they’re not even saving the planet.
Perhaps it is time for cities to consider scaling back their e-scooter programmes.
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I’m surprised none of the comments noted how deeply flawed this study is. I mean, where is the model? All they do is observe, count and compare like to like. That sounds suspiciously like statistics! Everybody knows that if you use proper statistics and fail to derive a model or two from the data you like- (er, that is, data that is conforming, yeah that’s it, conforming), you’ll never get the catastrophic warming that we all know is happening. At best, this will yield an accurate picture of what happens when you add scooter traffic to busy urban streets and sidewalks. How is THAT gonna alarm people, or stop Australia from burning? No more grants for them!
You’re walking along a footpath and decide to turn right to look into a shop window. At that moment an e.scooter coming from behind, collides with you.
What if the following occurs,
a. you are injured,
b. he is injured,
c. you are both injured,
d. both of you and other pedestrians are injured.
Any answers please regarding liability, and recompense, in such cases.
That depends on whether or not a lawyer observed the accident.
We have 3 high-end e-scooters in our garage. And 3 sets of helmet + knee protection gear. Rules are simple. No adherence, no scooter. No helmet, no scooter. No bicycle lane, no scooter. No reckless operation, this is just what it is, a lazy convenience not a racing machine.
The cheapest zip mode in our “village” like place, saves plenty of cold starts and short trips wear&tear to the cars.
Despite school throwing hissy fits, kids adopt them more and more on their way to/from school.
Last minute groceries, early morning fresh “croissants”, a trip to the coffee place, post office, little errands.
Works like a charm in rural areas. However I don’t understand how someone in his sane mind would go on open roads or dodge passants in a crowded city while riding one of those.
“ experts say the fast-evolving industry has the potential to revolutionize urban travel ”
1st order nonsense!
They certainly were the way to when in Italy a few months ago, so much so, I am considering one.
“experts say, companies such as Lime, Bird and Wheels must manufacture more robust e-scooters”
Not so sure about the robust part. As a youngster denied a bike (hills too steep) I must have been the oldest scooter rider ever. I got to know the handling characteristics of each type and still show scars of minor accidents.
Looking at the current design of childrens scooters, the steering handle is too upright and the wheels way too small and directly under the handle. I felt sorry for youngsters riding them as any small pothole could cause a spill. The small wheels seemed to be a spin off from skateboard design.Simply bad design that all manufactures seemed to follow.
The scooters of old that I used to ride had large wheels with inflatable tires and a raked back handle, so the front wheel was well in front of the forward curved handle making the ride safer and more predictable.
Looking at the electric scooters,there is clearly a design flow on from the dangerous childrens bikes. This Segway https://bit.ly/2QFpFQb has 10″ inflatable wheels, the largest of the bunch, but, in my mind, not large enough, especially at the speed they travel at.
The concept for battery power bikes is good. They are small, relatively lightweight, are foldable and have the battery under the riding board keeping the centre of gravity low, but designers, get your act together……..larger wheels with a forward placement on a raked forward handle, please.
We all know why there are so many e-scooter crashes. Yes, it is “climate change”- it plays merry hell with the air inside the the tyres. The microscopic expansion and contraction due to climate change makes the sensitive riders simply go off the rails. Once they start crying, they just can not see straight-they cannot even see reason, even when it is staring them in the face. To add insult to injury, they inevitably soil their diapers during a climate hysteria tantrum, causing more unbalance on the e-scooter, sometimes resulting in leakage, which really causes problems with the brakes and wheel traction. Once their diapers leak, it is like they are slipping around on thin ice- a bit like their catastrophic anthropogenic global warming theory-on very thin ice.
Always wondered why you should not be allowed to go “helmet free” if you have a card donating organs to other people when riding a motorcycle or one of these and you crash. You would have the option to go “Helmet-Free” providing you have signed a donor card. That would solve the problem however in providing enough body parts. I suppose it would be difficult to enforce.
Nice! That would make a good warning sign:
Attention!
Operation of this device without a
safety helmet is prohibited, unless
you’re carrying an organ donor card.
I suspect the “unless” clause would increase compliance. 🙂
Eric – for the stats you quote to be meaningful you would need to adjust them for usage levels. AFAIK there was very little scooter usage in 2014 and much greater usage in 2018. It would be far more interesting to know if accident rates associated with their use was flat, increasing or decreasing.
The Performance of a Moped.
Harder to see by other road users due to its small size.
Ridden by drug addled “Squids” wearing no protective gear.
An accident just waiting to happen, so it does….
Available motorised.
https://www.google.com/search?client=ms-android-huawei&sxsrf=ACYBGNTk_G6uMzNLEN6ZGeto6C7B9L6KyA%3A1579786299625&ei=O6ApXtndJfDnrgSE9oTACQ&q=motor+3+wheels&oq=motor+3+w&gs_l=mobile-gws-wiz-serp.
And kinda bicycle:
https://www.google.com/search?q=3+wheels+bicycle&oq=3+wheels+bi&aqs=chrome.
Didn’t we have that discussions already.
https://www.google.com/search?q=3+wheels+small+cars&oq=3+wheels+small+cars+&aqs=chrome.