Most Common Types of Electric Scooter Accidents in California

With the recent boom in electric scooter shares like Bird, Lime, Spin, and Jump in California comes a parallel boom in scooter accidents. E-scooter accidents can involve two scooters, a scooter and a pedestrian, or a scooter and a car. Whether you are riding an electric scooter or walking on the street, it is important to use extra caution and abide by California laws in order to avoid accidents. We have compiled a list of the most common types of electric scooter accidents in California, so you can take extra precautions to try to avoid becoming the next victim.

Scooter Malfunction

The most common cause of e-scooter accidents is scooter malfunction. With the huge number of riders daily, it is impossible for scooter share companies to inspect each scooter after each use. It is even questionable whether scooter companies that claim to inspect their scooters daily in fact do so. For example, the scooter share company Bird has stated in emails to customers that they perform no preventative work on the scooters and rely on customers to bring complaints about any scooter malfunction. This directly contradicts their public statements of daily inspecting each Bird scooter. Scooter malfunction can include brake failures, electric motor issues, handlebar collapses, flat tires, and much more.

Road Hazards

Road hazards – even small ones like potholes – can cause serious scooter injuries. While cars might not feel the impact of potholes as much, scooters have much smaller wheels and a much lighter profile and are  much more easily affected by even a small pothole. Other road hazards can include fallen branches, construction leftovers, and other debris.

Swerving

The most common cause of swerving for scooter riders is to avoid hitting another scooter, car, cyclist, or pedestrian. Since electric scooters share the road with cars and cyclists, there can be times when a car gets too close to a scooter or a scooter has to merge into the car lane briefly.

Dooring

Dooring is one of the leading causes of bicycle accidents and is affecting scooters, as well. When drivers and passengers in parked cars do not look before opening their doors from the driver’s side, the sudden door opening can catch scooter riders by surprise and cause them to run into the door if they are not able to stop or swerve in time. Dooring can result in serious injuries, as most dooring accidents involve the scooter rider flying off their scooter and planting face-first into the ground.

Have You Been Injured in a Scooter Accident?

Hopefully none of the above scenarios sound familiar to you, but if you have been injured in a scooter accident in Santa Rosa or San Francisco as either the scooter rider or as a pedestrian, contact a local personal injury attorney immediately to learn about your rights and options for compensation. The attorneys at Brod Law Firm have helped numerous scooter victims identify the cause of their scooter accident and hold the person who caused their injury accountable. Contact us online or at (800) 427-7020 for your free case evaluation today.

(image courtesy of Nathan Dumlao)