As Detroit settles into the e-scooter era, former Metro Times reporter Ryan Felton -- now working for Consumer Reports magazine -- tries to answer the question: Just how many people have been injured on these things, anyway?
The answer: Around 1,500, based on calls to more than 100 hospitals in 47 cities. But that's only an estimate based on available information, which is still sketchy. Some hospitals are not tracking scooter injuries separately. Nationwide, four fatalities have been linked to scooter use.
Several doctors at trauma centers told CR they’ve been treating serious injuries related to e-scooters since the ride-share fleets started showing up on some city streets about a year and a half ago. For example, the emergency chief at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta estimated the emergency department has treated 360 people with injuries. Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville has seen 250 people with injuries, according to the Medical Director of the Trauma ICU.
“We’ve had multiple concussions, nasal fractures, bilateral forearm fractures, and some people have required surgery,” says Beth Rupp, medical director at the Indiana University Health Center, in Bloomington, Ind., where ride-share e-scooters were introduced in September.
The lack of reliable data makes it difficult to compare scooter injuries to those suffered on motorcycles or in cars, Felton noted. And some of the reports he gathered were from patient records where the word "scooter" was mentioned, making it possible some injuries may have been suffered on seated scooters like Vespas.
Even with all those qualifications and hedging, the scooter companies come across, in their reactions, as the move-fast-break-things jerks you might suspect they are. Their strategy of dumping scooters on city streets with little or no official blessing is presented as a matter of urgency because of, guess what, climate change:
“Moving rapidly to reduce carbon emissions in transportation is one of the reasons we feel the need to move so fast,” the company says. The majority of Lime’s 26 million rides have happened safely, the statement adds, and the company uses numerous tools to educate riders about safety. To date, the company says it has distributed 75,000 free helmets to riders around the world.
“Rider safety remains Lime's top priority, which is why we provide riders with free helmets and recommend the use of helmets in our app and on pictures on our actual scooters,” the statement says. “In order to unlock a Lime scooter for the first time, all riders must first complete in-app tutorials that provide guidelines on helmet safety.”
In-app tutorials! OK, then.
As a doctor quoted says: “Who’s carrying a helmet with them?” when they rent a scooter. Good question.
Stay safe, Detroit.
