How dangerous is a Scooter?

Hehe... How dangerous is the scooter? ... or the scooter operator/"driver"/"rider"/etc?.. :lol: A lot depends on pedestrians... :lol: ... and other vehicle operators. :mrgreen:
 
There are two basic problems with the kinds of donut-wheeled scooters I see around here:

First, they have little shopping-cart sized wheels that can't surmount normal flaws occurring in street and sidewalk surfaces. They stop and the rider keeps going.

Second, and probably most importantly, these scooters are being used mostly by folks who haven't been on two wheels since they were kids. So they ride like kids (but with slower reflexes and bigger, heavier bodies).

In our short time with them here in Austin, there have been some serious injuries and a fatality-- and unlike what happens with bikes, so far car drivers usually aren't to blame. I can't help but think that whatever deciduous marketing-driven nonsense is at the bottom of the phenomenon will dry up and blow away before these dingdongs get their street skills on.
 
Off road wheel air tires on them scooters would be cool to ride on gravel and such.
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/saUTAJAsqas/maxresdefault.jpg


Skateboard would be cooler!
http://www.balance-electricscooter.com/photo/pl15469107-ecorider_48v_11ah_off_road_electric_4_wheel_skateboard_with_bluetooth.jpg
 
hey, Chalo:
https://www.statesman.com/news/new-details-ems-confirms-scooter-witness-describes-horrible-crash-south-austin/Ko6Uy31Xc451JetLZSAEJP/
second Austin death
endo'ed with CHI(closed head injury) in afternoon. Classic pattern for CHI, alert with rapid deterioration

1st in Dec 3 ,hit MV @~0130am
https://www.statesman.com/news/man-scooter-dies-head-crash-north-lamar-boulevard/IxxGrcAVRX5XTThZI1PrjJ/

One in Dallas 9/3 @~0300am probably hit by MV
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2018/09/04/police-man-dies-after-apparent-electric-scooter-accident/?utm_term=.9995345a50e5

CNN op ed (with no documentation) on the issue of the risks
https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/16/opinions/dangers-of-e-scooters-vox/index.html?no-st=1536108019

Many more in emergency medicine and trauma literature. Data from NTSA takes years to publish , so escooter literature will lag
Like bikes, high prevalence of facial, head and upper extremity trauma

too fast for the sidewalk, too slow for the street, with instability that feels like fun until it doesn't.

sigh

No helmets, no gear, no mas
 
In the Netherlands, over-60s accounted for almost 90 per cent of road deaths involving e-bikes in 2016.

Seen here:
https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=57933&p=1369307#p1369307

So again. Not sure re "type" of bikes, "scooter" versus pedal-only/electric/etc... just that adding assist may be getting more folks riding "again"... many of whom may have "rusty" riding skills and reaction times. :wink:

EDIT: Can/should add... If "scooter"-style... and if larger (heavier)... will store more kinetic energy when "hitting things"... and require more energy to accelerate from stops, etc. AND... "hard to pedal"? In EV terms, almost zero ability to pedal for warmth and for exercise, but also to shave off peak powers at starts and against gravity ("up hills") such that distances per charge are extended plus the cells ("battery") last longer before recycling and replacement (lowest costs per mile overall). :wink:
 
Today I got this today:
"Scooter use is rising in major cities. So are trips to the emergency room." Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/scooter-use-is-rising-in-major-cities-so-are-trips-to-the-emergency-room/2018/09/06/53d6a8d4-abd6-11e8-a8d7-0f63ab8b1370_story.html?utm_term=.5b7545f7d998


Bigger issue is one we have been dancing around for a long time:
Multiple vehicle types of vehicles, variable speeds and weights in lanes we share with cars, bikes ,pedestrians , the elderly, children,
joggers, bears.
In the face of this we have very poor ability to work out solutions, poor social communications , angry philosophies and narcissistic selfishness from all directions.
It is really about communication and living together, and we are not doing well.
Everyone blames everyone else, and while this happens we get videos of folks riding small wheel scooters down busy streets and public steps talking about how cool it is. Until it's not.
 
Donut wheeled scooters give inexperienced people a false sense of ease, especially when operated on surfaces intended for wheels four times the diameter.

Emergency room visits are way up in Austin thanks to donut scooters. Two dead so far; more to come.
 
Exactly. It's over and above all the hazards very small vehicles face on the roads. Those little wheels are not suitable for the terrain they're being used on.

I'd be willing to bet the majority of injuries result not from collision with other vehicles/pedestrians, but from the vehicle stopping suddenly, leading to unintended flight followed by suboptimal landings.
 
High CG, short wheelbase, quick, small wheel putting fulcrum low.
Rare use of protective gear
Riders with little experience
Not a lot of Newton needed to explain that
Not much more Darwin
 
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