Safety Issues
The electric scooter rental companies contend that their scooters reduce traffic congestion and pollution by making them easily available to the public, but Santa Monica is concerned about safe places to ride and park the scooters. California law allows them a maximum speed of 15 mph, and they're not permitted to be on roadways where the speed limit exceeds 25 mph. As per the parking and safety issues, Bird has offered to pay the city a dollar a day per scooter for improvements. The city is asking all of the rental companies to create conveniently located pick up and drop off zones along with incentives for using those zones and establish effective customer service lines with a 24-hour hotline.Electric Scooter Accident Causes
Electric scooters present narrow and low profiles in traffic, so public safety and liability are pivotal issues for Santa Monica's government. Many drivers of motor vehicles just don't see them, or they don't see them until it's too late. At best, the protective barrier between riders, pedestrians, fixed objects, motor vehicles and the pavement that they ride on is minimal. Injuries or even fatalities can result from electric scooter crashes for a variety of reasons. Here are some examples:- Failure to wear a helmet.
- Using scooters in areas where they're not allowed.
- Rider inexperience.
- Rider carelessness and negligence.
- Riding in tandem with two people on a scooter.
- Encountering dangerous road conditions like potholes and cracks.
- Malfunctioning scooters.
- Careless and negligent pedestrians, bicyclists and other scooter riders.
- Motorists making left turns in front of scooters or changing lanes when scooters are in their blind spots or are lane splitting.
