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By Brandi Vincent
WASHINGTON – After the sudden onset of electric scooters on the streets of Los Angeles, Dr. Lisa Dabby began receiving injured riders in the Urgency emergency room at UCLA's Nethercutt Emergency Center.
"Since the launch of the scooters in Santa Monica, I've seen a lot of people lose their teeth, with broken bones, head injuries, skull and face fractures," she said. . "And I saw a lot of tears, because it's really bad to need surgery or new teeth."
The sudden increase in the number of scooter startups in US cities has fueled optimism about the future of urban transportation with easier travel and fewer cars. Last month, Bird, one of the largest groups of young shoots in scooter, had already exceeded 10 million outings and Lime, his rival, claimed more than 11.5 million outings on his bikes and scooters shared.
However, widespread adoption and little regulation have left scooter start-ups, as well as hospitals and municipal governments, struggling with safety issues, particularly helmet use. So far this year, at least two people have died from injuries sustained while driving scooters by the new rental companies.
Scooters, which can be unlocked via a smartphone app and left anywhere, can go up to 15 km / h and run in 10 countries and more than 125 US cities. Users must accept long-term contracts that exempt scooter companies from legal liability if riders are injured by using them.
Nor is there a national database of all scooter injuries, which makes it difficult to measure the total injury suffered, although some initial research into scooter safety has revealed relatively low injury rates.
Dabby and his team at the UCLA Medical Center began keeping their own records to share with city officials, just like the Santa Monica Fire Department.
"We had to start tracking these injuries because so many were happening," said Dabby.
A quick search on Twitter is revealed no shortage of The knights document their injuries.
Highway to the helmet
The Dabby team has counted more than 200 scooter-related injuries since the beginning of June, counting patients injured in scooter collisions – as well as those injured by scooters. She said that in the summer, they saw up to seven patients a day related to a scooter. And even though she says that numbers have slowly declined in the late summer, the main problem is the lack of helmet use.
"None of the patients I saw in the ER after a scooter accident were wearing a helmet," Dabby said. "I always ask."
Dr. Oscar Guillamondegui, Medical Director of the Traumatology Critical Care Unit at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, said the lack of helmet use by scooter drivers had resulted in serious injuries, including facial fractures and cranial trauma.
"Our conclusion is that every injury would be avoided by wearing a helmet," said Guillamondegui.
Doctors are not the only ones to see a renewed interest because of scooter injuries. Lawyers also see opportunities to represent injured runners. A group of eight people recently filed a class-action lawsuit, accusing scooter manufacturers of "gross negligence", and billboards of lawyers seeking to represent injured riders begin to appear.
Scooter startups have launched safety campaigns to encourage people to abide by their rules and wear helmets, while claiming that focusing on scooter safety does not take into account the broader impact of reducing the speed of scooters. dependence on automobiles.
"The real danger on our roads is cars," said Bird spokesperson. "The fewer cars on the road, the safer our streets are."
Rules of the road
While scooters are now littering some of their cities, local officials said they managed to create a new regulation: creating new regulations to make bikers safer while attracting startups that they consider to be the best. future of urban transport.
Jon Larsen, director of Salt Lake City's Transportation Division, said his team was working closely with scooter salespeople to raise awareness and promote safety. Last month, city staff joined Lime and Bird representatives on downtown sidewalks to distribute safety helmets and pamphlets.
"We have actually been pushing suppliers to insist on safety because it is in their best interest," said Larsen.
In September, emergency physicians in Salt Lake City reported a 161% increase in the number of scooter injuries. According to Larsen, scooters have already done more good than bad by stimulating important discussions and adding a new level of urgency to complete the city's planned cycling network.
"You can just feel the momentum that announces you for new ways to get around and rethink how the system works," Larsen said.
Larsen said his team definitely encourages people to wear a helmet, but he is not convinced that mandatory helmet laws are the best choice. He added that one of the concerns was to know that it was worthwhile to allocate resources to the enforcement of helmet laws when the police are already overdue. resources.
"Right now, we treat scooters in the same way as motorcycles, but maybe that's something we'll have to re-evaluate in the months and years to come," he said.
Tariq Bokhari, a city council member from Charlotte, North Carolina, said that in her view, the type of regulation to apply to cities was limited, even after witnessing a serious injury to a city. scooter.
"I realized that I could not help but prevent this from happening only to prevent someone from looking at his phone while walking in a pedestrian crossing in traffic," he said. Bokhari.
He added that with 800 scooters deployed in Charlotte, the average number of vehicles per lap is six times a day, which, for him, indicates that the city market can actually handle even more scooters.
"The cities that create the best and most innovative environments for these types of alternative mobility businesses to grow are where they are going to take root and test incredible new technologies," he said. Bokhari.
Bokhari said that Charlotte had not yet finalized her position on helmet safety rules, but that for him the decision was to apply truly applicable laws – and laws in line with those already in place. cyclists in town.
"We ask our police to stop and sentence anyone without a helmet, this is not a good use of their time," he said.
Security first
Scooter manufacturers have also launched safety campaigns, when some cities have temporarily banned the use of these devices to determine how to regulate them.
In November, Lime announced its "Respect Driving" campaign, in which the company announced an investment of more than $ 3 million "to enable people to practice safe and responsible driving behaviors".
Taylor Bennett, Lime's director of public affairs, also said the company is holding a unique security summit, bringing together experts, opinion leaders and industry stakeholders for a constructive dialogue on the implications of shared mobility for security. . "
A Bird spokesperson said safety was a top priority and that the company had donated more than 50,000 helmets. He also set up a security advisory committee in August. And last week, the company introduced a new "Community Mode" feature, which allows anyone with the app to report damaged devices or irresponsible parking lots that may be dangerous.
But Bird also sponsored a California bill that reversed the initial requirements for helmet use for people over 18 years old. Bird's new legislation allows non-minors to legally drive scooters without wearing a helmet, in accordance with the rules in force for cyclists. Governor Jerry Brown approved the new law at the end of September.
"The results of this legislative process will not change Bird's ongoing efforts to promote the safety of our vehicles," said a spokesman for the company. "We strongly encourage all runners to wear a helmet."
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