Electric Scooter Culture Must Change
Who’s in charge of making e-scooters safer for pedestrians and riders?
The worst motor vehicle accident in my life happened about two months ago. I skidded in the rain and hurt my right leg so badly I couldn’t walk correctly for three weeks.
It didn’t happen in a car. It happened on a Lime e-scooter at night.
I probably should have gone to the ER to address my injuries, but in my hubris I chose to wait out the pain. I got lucky in that I did heal, but the process was greatly lengthened by the fact that I didn’t go see a doctor. And I wasn’t wearing a helmet, kneepads, or safety gear of any sort.
Yet if I had to do it over again, I’d do it exactly the same way.
I rarely bike with my helmet, confident in my ability to, well, not fall off my bike. And even after what happened to me, I’m still confident in my ability to ride an e-scooter and not get into an accident, even without protective gear. Like 98% of drivers who still text while driving, knowing it’s against the law and knowing that it’s dangerous to themselves and others, I believe that I just won’t get into bad accidents on a bike or an e-scooter because historically, I haven’t. (Besides, of course, that one exception.) We all have overconfidence bias, the belief that we’re…
