In the past few years, electric scooter rental companies have been making their way through metropolitan areas across the country. This weekend, the scooters arrived in Tampa. While easy access to scooters makes transportation a breeze, is it worth the potential risks? Today we’ll take a look at how these scooters work and examine the tradeoffs that have come with their use.
Electric Scooter Rental Craze
Scooter rental services have been popping up across the country with no signs of slowing. In a short time, this craze has catapulted scooter companies like Bird and Lime to company evaluations above $1 billion. Even established tech companies like Uber and Lyft have been jumping to get in on the action by launching their own electric transportation rental services, like Jump Bikes with Uber.
How does the service work? Much like Uber or Lyft, the scooter companies work to make the process as easy as possible. All you need to do is download the company’s app, find a nearby scooter, scan a barcode and hit the streets. When you’ve reached your destination, you just park your scooter and move on with your day.
As you might imagine, these services haven’t come without controversy. Residents of these scooter cities complain about reckless scooter riding, cluttered sidewalks, blocked wheelchair ramps and more. People have taken to social media to post pictures of their city streets looking like obstacle courses or scooter graveyards, with rider-less scooters clogging the sidewalks as far as the eye can see.
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An Accident Waiting to Happen
Beyond clogging up sidewalks and angering locals, the scooters have presented their fair share of accidents and injuries. Consumer Reports recently released a report that studied the injury impact caused by these scooters in the cities that they operate in.
The results aren’t good. They report that more than 1,500 people have been treated for scooter-related injuries since late 2017. That’s only including hospitals that are tracking those numbers too. According to the report, Grady Memorial Hospital alone has treated an estimated 360 people with scooter injuries in their emergency department since late 2017.
We’re not talking about scraped elbows and knees either. These hospitals are reporting severe injuries like fractures, concussions, brain injuries and more. Do the benefits of easier transportation really outweigh the multitude of risks?
Companies like Bird even supported laws in states like California that removed the requirement of helmets when operating electric scooters. Does it sound like safety is the top priority for these companies? It doesn’t to me.
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This is a developing issue that we’ll be taking a closer look at in the coming months, especially now that they’ve made their way to Tampa. While I like the idea, I don’t believe that the limited benefits outweigh the severe injury risks that we’re already seeing across the country.
If you or a loved one has been injured while riding one of these scooters, or injured by someone else riding one, contact our offices today. Our staff and attorneys are dedicated to providing you with the best client experience possible. You deserve the compensation required to get back on your feet, and we fight relentlessly for everyone who walks in our doors.
Call our offices at (800) LAW-3030 or fill out our online case evaluation form today. There’s no cost to have someone review your case, and our clients don’t owe us anything unless we win their case. Don’t wait! Start your journey to justice today.
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