California governor weighs on non-helmet law for electronic scooters

In California, there is a bill on Governor Jerry Brown's desk that would allow electric scooter drivers to skip wearing a helmet. Meanwhile, some doctors are increasingly worried about the danger of scooters.

"The wounds are fast and furious," said Michael Sise, chief medical officer at Scripps Mercy Hospital in San Diego, according to the Washington Post. "It's only a matter of time before someone is killed." I am absolutely certain of it.

Sise said his team had recently seen four serious injuries in a single week, the Washington Post reported. In addition, the Washington Post reports dozens of accidents during the summer in Santa Monica, with 18 seriously injured in the last two weeks of July.

If Brown signs Bill 2989 of the California Assembly, electric scooters will be treated like bicycles for helmet use. But Cnet cited forensic kinesiologist James Kent saying there was a big difference between the two.

"If you hit a pothole on a bicycle with a big wheel, you could have a problem. You hit a pothole on that little thing, you're going down, "said Kent, according to Cnet. "If I fall to the side and I can not break the fall and I do not have a helmet, I can potentially kill myself."

An emergency room in San Francisco sees up to 10 wounded per week, reports the Washington Post.

According to ABC7 News, this happens even after the city of San Francisco decided earlier this year to restrict the electric scooters without anchorage, which users pay to unlock and pay a small price per kilometer.

ABC7 News reported that "the rental companies have been ordered to transport (their scooters) until they get an agreement from the municipal authorities." Electronic scooter companies like Bird and Lime have received Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, according to the report.

Several cities in California have taken steps to regulate scooters.

The Los Angeles Times reported last month that the Los Angeles City Council was drafting rules to regulate and restrict electric scooter companies, including a plan that would limit the number of scooters to 5,000 per year. . "

And the city of Fresno has recently issued a cease and desist order against Bird, requiring the company to remove its scooters from the city "until an operational and operational policy is in place. a commercial agreement can be concluded, "according to the Fresno Bee.

"If you want to use the public right of way, you have to act in the public interest," said Deputy City Manager Jim Schaad, according to the Fresno Bee.

"We were encouraged to see the people of Fresno embrace our affordable and environmentally friendly transportation option, including the hundreds of Cal State Fresno students who sent e-mails to the city," he said. said a spokesman for the company. Bee. "We have had productive conversations with local leaders and hope to work with Fresno on a framework that will work for everyone."