Electric scooters from companies like Bird and Lime have taken over cities across America. However, a lack of enforced regulations, not understanding traffic signals, and the scarcity of education on how to ride them–are combining to cause accidents.
IU sophomore Lily Farber was riding a Bird scooter on 10th and Dunn when her hands froze up from cold weather conditions and she lost control of her scooter. She skidded off and fell into the road, heavily bruising and cutting her stomach and knee.
“It was terrifying. After the accident I haven’t ridden a scooter,” says Farber. Other students have witnessed these accidents happen as well.
IU senior James Carroll lives on the busy one-way street, East Cottage Grove Avenue. He and his friends were sitting on their porch where they witnessed a student lose control of his scooter and face-plant into the ground, where blood gushed from his head and police cars and ambulances rushed to his rescue.
“There’s a lot of foot traffic and cars in the area, it’s always busy so I am scared of riding a scooter here,” says Carroll.
IU senior Bianca Seta also lives on Cottage Grove, where she witnessed some unruly behavior involving a scooter rider.
“I saw this guy outside my window trying to ride three scooters at once – stacked on top one another up the street. He was clearly struggling and I’m not sure what he was trying to do considering how dangerous that is,” says Seta. “I watched a police officer pull up behind him to see what was going on.”
Seta has heard of numerous stories of scooter accidents across campus.
“I have seen 4 different Snapchat stories where someone posts a picture of their bloody nose or a shot of someone on campus skidding on their scooter. It is a very busy campus and it can be a dangerous environment for uneducated scooter riders.”
Bird and Lime have both received backlash. Their electric scooters notoriously have no parking racks – riders can leave them wherever they choose. This has led IU to impound hundreds of scooters left scattered on campus.
Electric scooter companies are trying to find ways to move forward. Lime scooters recently launched a “Respect the Ride” pledge to educate riders and promote scooter safety. The first 25,000 users to adopt the pledge will receive a free helmet.
To properly manage their scooters, Bird has recently announced a service called Bird Platform, where entrepreneurs and small business owners can create a business plan with the company by renting out a select number of the services.
These entrepreneurs are most likely to be bike rental shops or other local stores who would also be responsible for charging and maintaining the scooters.
For more information on how to ride an electric scooter, please visit this website: https://joinfuse.com/how-to-ride-an-electric-scooter/.
