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According to an unpublished study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Austin Department of Public Health, nearly 200 people were injured due to commendable scooters between September 5th and November 30th.
During this period, approximately 940,000 trips were made to Austin, according to the Austin Transportation Department. This gives a ratio of 20 injuries per 100,000 rides.
Overall, the study revealed a total of 271 injuries, but the researchers confirmed only 192, two of which were attributable to people who were not driving. One third of the 190 injured riders were driving the rented scooters for the first time. The injuries included bone fractures, lacerations and abrasions. Half of these riders were injured in the head or badly, while only one injured rider was wearing a helmet.
About half of the injured runners were between 18 and 29 years old. 55% drove in the street; and 77% of the injuries occurred in the downtown core.
The study compiled incident reports from the Austin Travis County EMS and intake records to emergency rooms. Austin Public Health suggests better tracking of scooter injuries and increased awareness of safe driving practices. About 40% of those surveyed said that speed contributed to their injuries.
At a briefing this morning, Rob Spillar, director of the Department of Transport, said scooters were a boon for commuters, helping them overcome what transport advocates call the last mile problem. But, he said, they are still a new mode of transportation and the wounds mentioned in the study are similar to those of novice cyclists.
"We're learning to use them, you know, and I think one of the data points is that a lot of the injured people are new users," Spillar said. "[I’m] do not confirm that this is what happens when there is a new device, but remember that when you have driven your bike for the first time, you are probably fell the first time. And that does not diminish the importance of these incidents. It just means that you should expect that, and we continue to observe better behaviors over the years. "
Novelty aside, scooters have been popular. Jason JonMichael, Assistant Director of Smart Mobility at ATD, said that the number of scooter trips in the study schedule was comparable to the number of car trips taken at the same time over distances between 0 and 3 km to downtown Austin. He described the accident / amusement ride as "statistically irrelevant".
The commendable scooters are in Austin since April of last year. Austin's city council has adopted rules limiting the number of scooters per supplier soon after, but it is currently considering putting in place more comprehensive rules for cyclists. The Council is expected to adopt these rules later this month.
Meanwhile at the Capitol, the Texas Senate decided yesterday to limit the speed of scooters to 15 mph, to ask bikers to be at least 16 years old and to allow cities to ban scooters on the sidewalks.
You can read the whole study below.
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