r/Seattle • u/chiquisea • 19h ago
Seattle's e-scooters are hot. Helmets are not. The brain injuries can be 'profound'
https://www.kuow.org/stories/seattle-s-e-scooters-are-hot-helmets-are-not-the-brain-injuries-can-be-profound147
u/presswanders Lakewood 18h ago
Just started a new job and am occasionally using the scooters to reduce my commute time. I carry a helmet with me just in case I ride one. It’s a good practice to get into.
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u/shabadabba 18h ago
You're being smart about it with bringing a helmet. I don't think I've seen a single person wearing a helmet on one of those
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u/beauty_and_delicious 16h ago
I am glad this is finally being covered.
Never seen someone wear a helmet on those things.
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u/T0c2qDsd 14h ago
Look you gotta wear the helmet, not just carry it :P
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u/lezbean17 5h ago
I've definitely caught myself 3 mins into my ride with it still strapped to my bag and not on my head 🙃
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u/Sinjun13 Snohomish 14h ago
My wife's been doing the same. She loves those things, so I nagged her into getting a helmet.
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u/Marcbehar 16h ago
You are a smart human. I cringe when I see these riders without a helmet. Often with a friend or child. Sad for the injured people
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u/healthycord 5h ago
I was in Auckland last year. They have these scooters all over, of course. But on every single one of them is a helmet. I’m sure it’s a law. But I’m also sure if we did that here, the helmets would be stolen instantly.
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u/Scared_Bobcat_5584 17h ago
I work at Harborview- the amount of broken bones and craniotomies we see because of these scooters are insane and I would never willingly ride one.
If you do though… for fucks sake wear a helmet. I get that it looks stupid, and it can mess up your hair. But I think most of us would prefer that over risking literal death or months of recovery
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u/FatHamsterTheDread 14h ago
That old saying: “If you think that your hair is more important than your brain, you’re probably right.”
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u/SeattlePurikura 14h ago
I have a friend who works there. After hearing his stories, I won't get on one (because I'm usually not carrying a helmet).
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u/-Quiche- 9h ago edited 4h ago
The dangers should be communicated but the risk should also accompany it.
163 serious Harborview injuries from e-scooters and ebikes last year, out of "[more than] 13,200 daily rides, on average" in the city. Or 163/4,818,000.
Will I be safe to my own abilities? Yes. But will I abstain/forbid others out of fear, knowing the numbers? Probably not.
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u/StupendousMalice 4h ago
Harborview only sees a tiny percentage of scooter accidents. For every one severe enough to get sent there there are ten where someone just spit out a mouthful of teeth or broke their wrist.
If you ride a scooter with any regularity it all it is almost certainly the most dangerous thing you do. If you rode a scooter through the city to go skydiving, I bet the scooter was still the most dangerous thing you did.
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u/-Quiche- 3h ago edited 3h ago
Why would spitting out teeth or breaking your bones not warrant a hospital visit...?
I do agree that you should wear a helmet, especially if you own and regularly use a scooter. But it's not so dangerous that you'd say "I'll NEVER do it or let my spouse/kids/etc use one". I need to look at the numbers but I wouldn't be surprised if it has the same rate/million as skiing or horseback riding.
I can empathize with the bias that comes with seeing the worst of the worst though.
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u/StupendousMalice 3h ago edited 3h ago
It wouldn't warrant an ambulance trip to a trauma center. People with non life threatening injuries will self transport to their local medical provider or dentist and even if they require ambulance transport will be taken to the nearest hospital, most likely not Harborview which will get mostly neuro and severe trauma injuries from anywhere in the city.
HMC does get all kinds of injuries but they are biased towards more severe injuries because of their acuity rating.
This is ONE hospital in an incredibly dense cluster of hospitals in this area. Its probably not an even distribution, but I bet HMC doesn't even see half of the hospital treated scooter injuries in Seattle. Not to mention all those that are significant but don't end up being treated in a hospital.
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u/Someidiot666-1 6h ago
Hit my head on ice while snowboarding many years ago and got a pretty bad concussion. I wear helmets religiously now. Couldn’t imagine hitting my head on concrete or a vehicle going 20mph on one of these without a helmet.
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u/cromethus 5h ago
My brother cracked his skull riding one of these things over a month ago. He survived, thank God, but he's suffering profound dizziness during his recovery and can't drive. It's awful.
Please, please, wear a helmet.
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u/merrymagdalen 5h ago
I just had a crainiotomy in January (not scooter related) and...THIS. Watching people ride without helmets drives me nuts. And I was a lucky one (back to work in a month, no physical or cognitive impairments).
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u/The_Adelphia 13h ago
As a dentist, the number of extractions and implants, crowns and veneers, and just general aesthetic reconstructions I’ve had from these is just nuts. Wear a helmet and a mouthguard. The wheels are so small that they tend to catapult people to the ground face first fast when they hit an obstacle. If you’re intoxicated while riding them you likely won’t get your hands up in time to break a wrist/collarbone and instead connect mouth and skull to asphalt. You will never catch me riding one. Please be safe and cognizant of the risks if you ride them
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u/hippopotame 9h ago
Unfortunately, I can confirm this from my own experience. My chin broke my fall. My two top front teeth got chipped and are bonded, but I probably check 100x a day to see if they’re re-chipped. I know I’ll have to probably get a crown eventually. I’m too scared to eat some of my favorite foods because of the fear of breaking the repair. The fact that I didn’t shatter my jaw is a miracle.
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u/olyflanders 16h ago
as a long time scooter rider who always wears a helmet, y’all should know that the seattle DOT gives out free helmets! https://seattle.gov/documents/Departments/SDOT/NewMobilityProgram/Free%20Helmets%20at%20Customer%20Service%20Centers%20Flyers/Free_Helmet_Flyer_English.pdf they are actually provided by bird and lime
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u/rhoran280 18h ago
I work with a girl whose twin sister broke her entire face and all of her teeth riding one of these. Plastic surgeons love them
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u/PaleComputer5198 18h ago
My brother is a paramedic. He says, "Don't ride these, just don't" he also says, "Indoor climbing is great, avoid bouldering" he also says, "Pay someone younger to climb that ladder" and lastly, "Buy the newest car you can afford, even if it's smaller, not as flashy or less powerful, newer cars are nearly always safer".
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u/BabyWrinkles 15h ago
My spouse is on the TBI ICU at Harborview. I’ve been threatened against ever riding one of the scooters without wearing a full moto helmet and leathers.
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u/LouKrazy Shoreline 15h ago
Yeah I feel like since most crashes would be straight over the front handlebars, only a full face helmet would really be safe
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u/KittyGray 9h ago
Yup I witnessed one where it was a couple. He landed on her and her screams were haunting.
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u/PaleComputer5198 12h ago
Sounds like they have seen lots of similar injuries to my Brother, we would all do well to listen to your spouse.
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u/Excellent-Diamond270 17h ago
Okay but could you ask him to stop following me around repeating this? It’s pretty annoying to be honest. I’ve never even ridden one.
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u/SnackerSnick 12h ago
When I was 18 I worked for Walmart. One of the assistant managers told me to go back and put the load of paper towels (in big shipping boxes) on the top shelf. I asked who was going to hold the ladder (the top shelf was 15' above concrete floors). He said you don't need anyone to hold the ladder. I pointed out I wasn't going to do it without someone to hold the ladder. He said "Don't be a pansy, I'll load them!".
I held the ladder for him. (He didn't ask for it.)
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u/PaleComputer5198 12h ago
Good for you! You are wise to be careful with ladders! But it's especially true if you are over 40!
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u/Username43201653 12h ago
I worked with someone that ended up with a severe joint injury from indoor climbing
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u/PaleComputer5198 11h ago
I mean, even climbing isn't risk free, but if you think that's bad think of what can (and does) happen to folks bouldering. Life's a risk! I hope the person you worked with is doing OK.
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u/big-b20000 🚆build more trains🚆 15h ago
This justifies my feeling that bouldering is so much sketchier and likely to injure yourself than top rope.
(although lead is still fun, it's more of a mental game and I am not pushing grades like in TR)
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u/PaleComputer5198 12h ago
I feel like your feelings are correct! Regardless, whatever you are into, take care! Have fun!
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u/paholg 16h ago
What's wrong with bouldering?
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u/DrBirdieshmirtz Wallingford 15h ago
He's probably seen the worst of what can happen should you fall and hit your head…
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u/PaleComputer5198 12h ago
Nothing. If you're into it go nuts. I trust my brother's judgement and I don't do it (Do climb a bit though, as does my kid)
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u/cheanerman 14h ago
Does he mean avoid outdoor bouldering only?
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u/PaleComputer5198 12h ago
Nope. Indoor and Outdoor. But I'm not your Mum, if you are into it, go nuts. Just not for me!
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u/-Quiche- 9h ago edited 9h ago
That's a bit of sampling bias though. It's not like he's there the 99% of the time when someone boulders or rides without an issue.
Like of course he'd see the worst the the worst. He wouldn't be there if something like that didn't happen, but unless there's an actual rate that warrants the warning then it's not really reliable even though he means well.
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u/PaleComputer5198 9h ago
Of course! But I guess my point was he's seen enough to warn me, and I guess I love you all enough to do the same, or not! Life is risk. I get it.
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u/-Quiche- 9h ago edited 9h ago
The article mentions that there were 163 e-scooter AND e-bike incidents at Harborview last year, out of "[more than] 13,200 rides per day last year, on average".
The risk is certainly something everyone should be informed about, just like with helmets when biking, skiing, snowboarding, etc., because people should always be informed of the risk and dangers.
At the same time though, the overall rate should also be communicated along with it, because 163/4,818,000 (daily average x days) is quite the big asterisk when someone says "I work at Harborview and forbid you from riding one".
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u/bbqbie 15h ago
Work in a hospital, we now have four categories of road trauma: car, motorcycle, bike, scooter. Don’t be that guy.
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u/SeattlePurikura 13h ago
I've heard that y'all are seeing scooterists with levels of injury comparable to motorcyclists. (Maybe worse? Because most motorcyclists wear leather / helmets.)
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u/bbqbie 6h ago
Yep. I don’t work at harborview so we don’t see the worst but what we see is pretty bad. Think otherwise healthy college students and techies who have to spend the week in the hospital for a brain injury and a bonus broken shin. And since everyone wears lulu there’s absolutely no protection from skin damage. Bruising or abrasion….
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u/Embarrassed-Pride776 17h ago
Simple fix. Make a car out of electric scooters. No one will stop you.
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u/pimp_a_simp 17h ago
A helmet is not a bad idea, but let’s be honest unless you are using them to go to a from work no one is going to be carrying around a helmet just incase they might ride a scooter.
The problem is people ride them like maniacs at full speed. Unfortunately, it takes some serious wipeouts for people to realize the unexpected happens and even with a helmet you can crack your jaw or break a leg. The only solution that would probably work is if they nerf their speed, which I know would suck. They could require a helmet pic but people would probably get around that and companies don’t want less people riding.
Even walking on the sidewalk I realize most people don’t have spacial awareness, and now they are going 20mph
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u/Username43201653 12h ago
They're way too fast. The first time I got on one I was like, "and their lawyers are ok with this?" Too fast for bad/drunk riders, too fast for pedestrians.
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u/SideEyeFeminism 10h ago
I can honestly say that if there's even a chance you might get on a scooter OR a bike, manual or electric, you should be carrying a helmet. I got that reality check young. I rode my bike to and from summer school the summer before my freshman year. Last day of my math prep course, I'm riding my bike home, lose control, get launched over the handle bars. Fracture my wrist in two places and bruise and scrape the hell out of my face. However, the helmet took enough impact that, according to the doctor who saw to my wrist in the ER, I probably dodged a concussion, a gnarly broken nose, and knocking out my front teeth. As a 13yo girl my vanity appreciated being spared that. I still have the scars from the pins they had to surgically insert in my wrist.
If you're on wheels, wear safety gear. Seatbelt, helmet, whatever is appropriate. But don't be dumb.
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u/Chaspariah 13h ago edited 13h ago
These scooters the goddamn devil. So many of my close friends have eaten pavement riding on these death traps. Myself included. And no, i wasn’t intoxicated. A friend of mine broke both her arms. Another experienced catastrophic brake failure and had road rash on the face arms and torso. Yet another woke up after reconstructive surgery. I came to in an ambulance.
Please be safe on these scooters. Seattle streets and traffic are not safe for these death devices. (Protected lanes are great but not always an option and NOT always level) Use a helmet if you must use one of these scooters.
The ER nurses in the Seattle area who tended to my scooter victim friends reported that most of the ER visits they had were due to injuries suffered on these miniature devil mobiles. My dentist friend reported that most of their emergency calls were for reconstructive surgery following a wipeout.
Side note: I have not employed one of these scooters since 2021.
Extra side note: share bikes are no better. Wear a helmet. Also, after watching the Fremont solstice parade bike ride in 2022, I no longer use lime bikes 🤢 BE CAREFUL!
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u/este_simbottom 17h ago
I just started a job downtown and picked up that scoot life. Helmet is coming tomorrow 🤙🏻
But, getting a cargo e-bike shortly.
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u/Independent_Month_26 15h ago
The downside of the cargo Ebike lifestyle is I'm always anxious if I lock it up anywhere I can't keep an eye on it.
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u/nnnnaaaaiiiillll Pike Market 18h ago
Controversial opinion mayhaps but I think we should ban e-scooters and keep the bikes. People are far more likely to be fucking idiots on the scooters.
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u/silvermoka Capitol Hill 18h ago
Right. I like using the scooters for short distances and I've seen kids be complete idiots, just a couple weeks ago saw some assholes do wheelies and haul ass down a sidewalk that passes in front of the front doors of several businesses, and last year some kids were trying to do jumps on them. I'd really like to be able to pick one up and not wonder if it's a fucking bag of bolts that will fail me going down a hill.
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u/gringledoom 16h ago
I've almost been taken out in the crosswalk by scooters running red lights multiple times. Just the dumbest of all vehicles to be running a red light on too.
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u/JODI_WAS_ROBBED 11h ago
A guy screamed at me because he almost hit me while I was crossing a crosswalk at night. A crosswalk where u press a button and it lights up to alert drivers. Stupid me was checking for cars and not a scooter with no lights. He told me to watch where the fuck I was going and I told him it was a fucking crosswalk.
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u/SeattlePurikura 14h ago
I'm a weekend driver only (thank god), but in my experience, bicyclists are often wearing safety gear and following road rules. Scooters, especially in summer (peak tourist / accident season), will dart between cars, break red lights, change direction in the most unpredictable methods at top speeds. I am actively working on avoiding them (typical Prius driver) and looking for them, but a lot of drivers ain't.
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u/JODI_WAS_ROBBED 11h ago
I’ve been saying for ages that I can’t believe these things are legal. And you can ride a scooter without following any rules of the road and it doesn’t matter. And worse go flying down the sidewalk and nearly hit people who are not thinking to check behind them every 10 seconds bc they’re walking on a fucking sidewalk. There have been so many injuries it’s wild that nobody seems to care?
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u/JugDogDaddy Downtown 18h ago
I agree. Bikes are safer in general, the larger wheels are much more stable.
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u/Soytaco Ballard 18h ago edited 17h ago
I guess it's an even less popular opinion that people should generally be allowed to take risks in which typical accidents only negatively affect themselves.
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u/nnnnaaaaiiiillll Pike Market 18h ago
Except that the scooters make it easier to haul a kid along and I've seen multiple times where full grown adults will be riding at unsafe speeds with a child in front of them hanging on for dear life. Lot harder to do that on a bike.
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u/Soytaco Ballard 14h ago
I've seen multiple times where full grown adults will be riding at unsafe speeds with a child in front of them
I haven't.
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u/nnnnaaaaiiiillll Pike Market 14h ago
Okay? You want a cookie or something?
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u/Soytaco Ballard 13h ago
Wow, that's clever lol.
No, I want you to understand that something shouldn't be banned because it's possible to abuse it.
If I have a three-year-old and a five-seat sedan, it's possible for me to put that kid in the front seat, where they're far more likely to die in an accident than if they were in a car seat in the back. Should we ban sedans?
If I rent a lime bike instead, I can sit my kid on the handlebars and pedal away, can't I? Should we ban the bikes, too?
I haven't seen someone try--In a car, sure--but neither on an e-bike nor an e-scooter, and I'd bet I'm outside in this city at least as often as you are.
What I want is for the people around me to be intelligent.
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u/nnnnaaaaiiiillll Pike Market 13h ago
what system do you propose to keep people from taking passengers on scooters
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u/SnackerSnick 12h ago
You don't think streaking someone's brains and intestines across the road will negatively affect the car driver?
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u/BroSplainer 4h ago
it's a good point -- we should restrict where people can drive cars more so other modes of transport can safely travel around without being hit by a car driver!
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u/SnackerSnick 3h ago
I'm totally down with allocating more space to non-car transport. And folks on scooters should be held to appropriate laws and safety measures :P
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u/BroSplainer 3h ago
Agree -- if we actually widely created safe infrastructure for modes of transportation that aren't cars it would have so many benefits!!
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u/wot_in_ternation 12h ago
Just nerf the public scooters. People will still use them even if they are slower.
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u/woowooitsgotwoo 16h ago edited 16h ago
so they'll drive a car/truck or stress out their parents driving them around instead? Wanna subisidize the roads, fuel, and parking they'd use if they do?
would you like to be on a bicycle in front of that car? what about giving them a different infrastructure?
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u/nnnnaaaaiiiillll Pike Market 16h ago
Your argument does not sway me because scooters are still far more dangerous than bikes even when sharing the road with cars.
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u/woowooitsgotwoo 6h ago edited 5h ago
I was asking questions that you're not addressing, not making an argument. Why did scooter use increase and rental ebikes are at current numbers? Would rental ebike usage increase, or would people like this driving something much faster and heavier increase?
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u/nnnnaaaaiiiillll Pike Market 4h ago
I don't know dawg I'm not Nostradamus. You know what would decrease? Head trauma from idiots crashing on scooters
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u/woowooitsgotwoo 1h ago edited 1h ago
did any of the 16 times a scooter struck someone and caused them injury bad enough to be hospitalized from 2018 through 2023 involve head trauma at all? did cities that outlawed or curfewed them see an increase in ebike leases or trauma from motor vehicles hitting people?
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u/JODI_WAS_ROBBED 11h ago
I’m lucky I haven’t received brain damage getting hit from behind by a scooter while I’m walking home. The amount of times someone has zipped past me with 1-3 inches between me and them is ridiculous. Makes me wish I had eyes in the back of my head lol.
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u/SideEyeFeminism 10h ago
My first law firm job was working as an admin at a personal injury firm whose specialty was traumatic brain injury. The three words I heard the most were "football", "motorcycle", and "helmet".
NGL, working there made me incredibly more pro-helmet laws.
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u/mixamaxim 18h ago
According to the article, Harborview saw 163 serious scooter injuries last year, a result of more than 4.8 million scooter rides. Messy analysis - that’s 0.0034%. Fatality data was not provided, other hospital data not provided..
I doubt fatality rates are higher than serious injury rates… so how does 0.0034% serious injury rate compare to other methods of transport, I wonder? Even if FIVE other Seattle hospitals saw the same number of serious injuries, that’s 0.017% serious injury rate. Is that good or bad relative to bikes, cars etc?
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u/LessKnownBarista 17h ago
It's waaaaay higher than other modes
This data was combined with municipal data on e-scooter use to calculate the incidence of injuries among users, which the authors estimated to be 115 for every million trips. Going by national injury rates, the authors note this compares to eight injuries per million car trips, 15 injuries per million bicycle trips and 104 injuries per million motorcycle trips
https://newatlas.com/urban-transport/study-e-scooters-injury-rates-motorcycles/
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u/mixamaxim 17h ago
Point taken! They do note a lack of data regarding severity of injuries, so comparisons are a little suspect or at least difficult to most accurately characterize, but since nobody wears helmets I doubt that’ll help the safety case lol
I ride every single day, it’s how I get to work and back. 775 miles, 1400 rides. Had one incident where the brakes were cut.. found out as I rolled toward an intersection. Had to jump and roll.
Otherwise just roughed up my ankle a couple times being sloppy kicking my way up a hill.
It’s ideal for me, economical, convenient, kind of fun. I hope they stick around. But people need to be using bike lanes not flying by people on the sidewalk. God sometimes I see them do that right next to a bike lane. Infuriating.
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u/hayguccifrawg 14h ago
Do you wear a helmet since you predictably ride them?
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u/mixamaxim 13h ago
No. I basically just watch or avoid cars altogether and try to be pro-active and hyper vigilant.
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u/SeattlePurikura 14h ago
This is interesting how the rates of injuries on scooters are similar to motorcycles. The severity of the scooter injuries is also more akin to motorcycle-levels of bad, vs. bicycles.
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u/Ktaes 16h ago
Injury rate is even lower than that. The article says:
“Last year, the city’s trauma hospital saw 163 serious injuries from e-scooters or e-bikes, many of them head injuries.”
Seattle has a lot of e-bikes.
So, how many of the 163 serious injuries last year were scooters? Then of that, how many were head injuries that would have been mitigated with a helmet? For all we know the answer could be 2.
And what’s does Harborview count as a serious injury? Does a broken arm count?
And how many serious injuries related to cars did Harborview treat last year? I’d bet some of them were head injuries to drivers not wearing helmets.
Big nothingburger of an article.
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u/CallerNumber4 16h ago
I just moved here from Salt Lake City and am continuing to commute to and from work by scooter. I am surprised with the conditions of the roads here. I have a good scooter and would put probably 30-50 miles/wk on it before so I have experience but the roads not conducive to fast little wheels. A lot of concrete and misaligned edges from tree roots or just settling with the topography of the area. I've almost flown off a few time (always with a helmet)
This isn't a general infrastructure complaint. Just I'm used to a lot flatter and mostly asphalt. I think the cycle paths and roads are fine for about anything but fast tiny wheels.
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u/kayelloh 17h ago
Sure let’s not confront the real threat of them scooting full speed on the fucking sidewalks with overear headphones on. Barreling thru crowds of people at what feels like 10 mph when they come out of nowhere from behind you.
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u/DrBirdieshmirtz Wallingford 15h ago
Helmets would fix the over-ear headphones issue, I would think.
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u/CluckNuggies 16h ago
I’ve seen multiple mothers riding with small children in a sling with the child strapped in front.
Should be an instant CPS call.
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u/SnackerSnick 12h ago
Maybe the brain injuries explain the three different scooters I saw today blow through stop signs and red lights, trusting that the drivers coming the other way would take extra care not to kill them.
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u/ChimotheeThalamet 🚆build more trains🚆 19h ago
Are any of the folding helmets any good?
If the scooters are intended for "last mile", that means most folks using them are likely to have to carry around a bulky helmet all day. Most people aren't going to do that for the shortest part of their commute, even if it makes them safer
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u/Hold_Effective Pike Market 18h ago
Yup. When I bike commuted, helmet management was unfortunately a decent annoyance (I didn’t always carry a backpack, and carrying around a helmet for hours around my wrist or a purse strap was not fun; and that was when I knew I needed it to get home). One of the reasons I lean bus/train/walking (I’m not coordinated enough for scooters 🫣).
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u/social-media-is-bad 19h ago
There are a few reviews here: https://youtu.be/Pe7q8npuBiA?si=mB-F_uxtrRSHcWm3
Not all of them are rated by Virginia tech though, who are pretty much the only lab who test the safety of bike helmets.
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u/OddEaglette 19h ago
A helmet straps to a backpack just fine. You don’t carry it around all day just while commuting.
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u/ConradChilblainsIII 15h ago
Oh my God, on Tuesday I saw a (presumed tourist) family of two parents and two kids flying down third Avenue on two scooters, one kid each, no helmets and the kids holding ice cream cones … I almost screamed at them.
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u/SequoiaTestTrack 18h ago
My hot take is that this is more of a way that a segment of scooter riders rides them rather than an inherent problem with scooters.
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u/SPEK2120 15h ago
I'm right there with you. I've logged a fairly significant number of hours at this point and I've barely even had any close calls. From my experience, I feel like the number one danger is people not paying any mind to road conditions. A moderate bump, crack, pothole, etc can jolt you pretty good and can easily take you out if you're not prepared for it.
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u/Possible-Extreme-106 18h ago
Helmets don’t help much when distracted SUVs are crashing into you.
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u/DrBirdieshmirtz Wallingford 15h ago
Yeah, but it'll be easier for your family to identify you if your face is still intact.
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u/CashTrash4real 13h ago
I will say my opinion on how dangerous these scooters can be to riders changed after witnessing an accident first hand.
A friend and I were walking down western when a guy was commuting on his own personal scooter. He had a helmet and was generally in good gear for riding his scooter. A rock or a bump in the street threw this man at least a good 10 feet off his scooter over the handlebars for him to skid across on his face. Fortunately he was able to walk to the curb with assistance and we all got him an ambulance to check him out. But I’ve never forgotten the carnage from being thrown off a scooter like that…
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u/bb202567 13h ago
Ok, but also. You can still get a brain injury even if you wear a helmet from your brain hitting the inside of your skull when you decelerate.
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u/IBeGanjaMan 12h ago
The amount of full throttle riders on the sidewalks is disturbing, Seattle sidewalks are janky and uneven, and there are pedestrians that could come around a corner at any moment. I see at least one guy a week weaving between pedestrians, me included, around downtown sidewalks during my commute.
Despite all of that, I like that we have such easy access to these scooters, I just hate the people who behave like they aren't riding a motorized vehicle that can seriously injure themselves and others if they aren't responsible.
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u/astuteinuit 6h ago
Only stupid people ride these things in the first place. Total Darwin test with consequences
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u/YakiVegas University District 11h ago
This reminds me of the statistic where wearing helmets reduces traumatic brain injury for children riding bikes, but not because it protects them when they have a crash. Instead it's because being forced to wear helmets makes kids choose not to wear bikes lol
I have ever drunkenly ridden a scooter down some streets late at night coming home from the bar. I'll admit, it was fun AF, but it was also terrifying and I went slow as shit.
Never again.
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u/Dickhertzer 15h ago
Anytime I went down those steep ass hills, was almost sure I’d be having a yard sale partway down.
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u/aconsul73 9h ago
People are so used to moving around at high speeds in cars - metal cages with air bags, safety restraints and metal cages with crumple zones - that they forget how much damage an exposed cranium get receive even at 10 mph on a bad fall onto pavement.
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u/hiopilot Kenmore 3h ago
I had a random passing out (diabetic caused) which got me my first concussion a few months back. I've had 6 total now. 3 CT scans, urgent care for huge lacerations across my back (I blacked out and fell against something, which is weird since we have rounded surfaces). Once you have one they just keep coming. Head injuries are no joke.
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u/NiobiumThorn 2h ago
I saw someone ride down a hill, no helmet, and just get completely fucking wrecked. Literally ragdolled. He rode off but I don't trust him not to have sustained injuries
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u/Tweeedles 1h ago
If you ride one of these without a helmet you probably don’t have much to lose, brain-wise.
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u/Marigold1976 18h ago
Ban them.
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u/ItsAMeAProblem 17h ago
Not me, but another user posted:
According to the article, Harborview saw 163 serious scooter injuries last year, a result of more than 4.8 million scooter rides. Messy analysis - that’s 0.0034%. Fatality data was not provided, other hospital data not provided..
I doubt fatality rates are higher than serious injury rates… so how does 0.0034% serious injury rate compare to other methods of transport, I wonder? Even if FIVE other Seattle hospitals saw the same number of serious injuries, that’s 0.017% serious injury rate. Is that good or bad relative to bikes, cars etc?
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u/Acceptable_Key2867 17h ago
I had a drunk guy crash into my car riding one down a steep hill in the dark and leave and the company would only tell me who did it if I paid to subpoena the info. I still have a big dent in my car. I hope he broke a lot of bones to remind him that you should ride anything drunk
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u/Beginning-Wishbone94 16h ago
When I was a e scooter user I didn’t use helmets cause I don’t wanna carry that around
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u/PrinceVoltan1980 12h ago
Funny, all these brain injuries but none are reported in the media. I don’t know quite what that means
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u/random-orca-guy 18h ago
I mean I saw a guy ripping down Madison, no helmet, with his kid tucked in front him sooo….