Scooter accidents are far more common than you might think. Scooters save on gas and come with a smaller carbon footprint, but they don’t come without their risks. Just like with cars, scooter accidents can happen at a moment’s notice.
That’s why it’s essential to wear protective gear, obey traffic laws, and carefully drive/ride your scooter. But even then, accidents happen, so it becomes more about minimizing accidents than preventing them.
Keep reading to learn what you need to know about the most common scooter injuries.
What is the most common scooter injury?
According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, five types of scooter accidents are most common – fractures, head injuries, contusions, sprains, and lacerations. All of these injuries can be serious and require immediate medical attention.
- Fractures – A fracture happens when part of your bone – but not the whole bone – breaks. There are compound fractures where you can see the bone through your skin and simple fractures where your bone is broken, but your skin remains intact.
- Head injuries – There are many kinds of head injuries, but an electric scooter accident is most likely to cause a concussion or other traumatic brain injury. A traumatic brain injury occurs when there’s a sudden physical assault on the brain.
- Contusions – Contusions can happen to bones and soft tissue. They’re a hematoma that occurs when capillaries or blood vessels are hurt, causing blood to spread to the surrounding area.
Bone contusions feel tender, are often stiff or swollen, and usually hurt to move. Soft tissue contusions are bruises that affect your muscle or skin tissue.
- Sprains – Sprains occur when a ligament is stretched or torn. The ligament is the fibrous tissue that connects your bones to your joints. You can sprain almost any body part, but ankle sprains are the most common.
- Lacerations – A laceration is a cut on your skin. Unlike an abrasion or contusion, there isn’t usually any internal damage. Cutting yourself on a shard of glass is an example of a laceration.
How many people get hurt on scooters?
According to the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission, over 190,000 individuals have sought medical treatment in an emergency room. Electric scooter accidents happen because of mechanical, electrical, and human errors.
Getting hit by a car causes 80 percent of electric scooter accidents, 70 percent of which occur in daylight. Drivers don’t notice scooters as much as they notice other vehicles in the same way that pedestrians are harder to spot. Many of these crashes occur when a scooter rider is on a sidewalk or in a driveway.
How safe is driving a scooter?
Driving a scooter is about as safe as driving a motorcycle, even though scooters can’t go as quickly. They’re more dangerous to drive than a car or motorcycle because there’s no protection.
Less Stability
Like a motorcycle, your entire body is exposed when you ride a scooter. But they differ from motorcycles. Scooters have smaller wheels than motorcycles or cars, so they don’t provide as much stability and are more susceptible to road potholes, debris, and bumps.
Less Visibility
Less visibility is another factor. Because scooters are smaller, drivers are much like pedestrians, which, as mentioned in the previous section, are less likely to be seen in traffic.
Many drivers stop on the pedestrian crossing instead of behind it or pull all the way forward to make a right-hand turn, paying more attention to oncoming traffic than to the pedestrian right next to them.
Less Gear
Lack of gear is another problem. Riding a scooter is no different than riding a bicycle or motorcycle. Accidents can happen anytime, making a helmet the bare minimum for safety. Ideally, wearing long sleeves, pants, and proper footwear should be part of your attire if you ride an electric scooter.
How can I prevent a scooter accident?
Even with the safety risks they present, scooters are a great mode of transportation for individuals who don’t have a car. And with the right safety gear and precautions, many electric scooter accidents can be prevented.
We recommend following these guidelines:
- Pay attention to the road. Riding a scooter gives you the unique opportunity to enjoy the scenery right before your eyes. The open road is truly before you. However, this can pose a risk if you focus more on the view than the road. You could miss a pothole in the street, lose your balance, and get hurt.
- Keep your hands on your handlebars. You might feel like riding with one hand on the handlebar, but keeping both hands on the bar is vital for balance.
- Put your phone away. As tempting as it might be to look at your phone while riding your electric scooter, it’s not a good idea. It’s a distraction that could cause an accident that wouldn’t have otherwise happened.
- Wear a helmet. If you take a tumble, a helmet protects you from serious injury. It can prevent concussions or reduce the severity of a traumatic brain injury, depending on how bad the accident is. Helmets also help with face and neck injuries and reduce fatalities.
- Slow down when turning. Just like you’d slow down when making a turn in your car or motorcycle, you should slow down on your electric scooter. This gives you more control and helps you stay in your lane as your weight and balance shift.
- Inspect your scooter before you ride. Before you ride, simple steps like checking your tire pressure, folding mechanism, and brakes can save you from trouble on the road. It’s also a good idea to ensure your bolts and screws are tight and that your brake discs aren’t bent.
- Have lights on your scooter. Just like you have headlights and brights on your car for nighttime visibility, you’ll want to have lights on your scooter.
- Wear eye protection. If your helmet doesn’t come with a visor, we recommend getting one. You don’t want to get bugs or dirt on your face or in your eyes, and a visor will prevent that.
Contact Flickinger Boulton Gooch & Robson.
Having a personal injury lawyer is essential if you’ve been in a scooter accident. You could be entitled to compensation for your pain and suffering.
Flickinger Boulton Gooch & Robson has over 150 years of combined experience for personal injury lawsuits, including scooter accidents. We offer free case evaluations where we can determine the best way to represent you. We understand how challenging scooter accidents can be and are here to guide you through the process. Call us at 801.500.4000, or contact us through the form on our website to get started. Flickinger Boulton Gooch & Robson is here for you.