No Time To Trial or Legalise E-Scooters in UK

Significant Risk of Personal Injury Too Great for Britain in Time of Pandemic

Contents

1.0              Overview                             Page 3

2.0              Evidence                             Pages 3 to 11

3.0              Comments                             Page 12

4.0              Recommendations               Page 12

Appendix A               Electric Scooter Accident Injury Stories - Santa Monica              Pages 13 to 78

Published on McGee Lerer & Associates Website                           

Appendix B               Research Papers on Injuries from E-Scooters                             Pages 79 to 89

1.0              Auckland, New Zealand

1.1                ‘Impact of e-scooter injuries on Emergency Department Imaging’

1.2              ‘Electric Scooter Injuries at Auckland City Hospital’

2.0              USA

2.1               Austin, Texas, USA ‘Dock less Electric Scooter Related Injury Incidents’

September- November 2018

2.2              Dallas, Texas, USA ‘Craniofacial Injuries Seen with the Introduction of Bicycle-Share

Electric Scooters in an Urban Setting’

2.3               San Diego, California, USA ‘Severe eye injuries seen with e-scooter accidents’

2.4              Southern California, USA ‘Injuries Associated with Standing Electric Scooter Use’

2.5               Salt Lake City, Utah ‘Emergency Department Visits for Electric Scooter-Related Injuries After Introduction of an Urban Rental Program’

2.6              Indianapolis, USA ‘Facing Facts: Facial Injuries from Stand-up Electric Scooters’

3.0               Turku, Finland ‘Assessment of Craniomaxillofacial Injuries Following Electric Scooter Accidents in Turku, Finland in 2019’

4.0               Copenhagen, Denmark ‘Injury from electric scooters in Copenhagen: a retrospective cohort study’

Appendix C               Example of Deaths & Serious Injuries Caused By E-Scooters Pages 90 to 120

1.0              Bike courier hit by e-scooter, Portland USA

2.0              ER doc: Stay off electric scooters Number of e-scooter-related injuries on the rise

3.0              New York, USA ‘60-year-old woman dies after being hit by e-scooter in Harlem’

4.0              Singapore ‘E-scooter rider jailed after crash causes 6-year-old to suffer brief hearing loss’

5.0              Singapore ‘S$2,400 fine for e-scooter rider who collided into 10-year-old girl’

6.0              Singapore Police arrest e-scooter rider who allegedly knocked down woman in Bedok Reservoir

7.0               Singapore ‘Family of e-scooter hit-and-run victim appeals for witnesses to come forward’

8.0              Spain ‘E-scooter rider who caused Spain’s first fatality faces fine, not prison

9.0              Many examples given – ‘Broken Bones and Missing Teeth: Scooter Injuries Are Becoming Common At Hospitals’ Katie Notopolos, 20 August 2018

10.0               Paris, France ‘Man killed and woman badly injured in latest electric scooter crash in France’

11.0              San Francisco, USA ‘E-scooter crash on SF’s Embarcadero leaves 69-year-old woman with life-threatening injuries’

12.0     Spain Calls for electric scooters to be banned in Spain after man is killed in tragic

              Accident

13.0               Hobojen, New Jersey Hoboken Pulls Plug On Electric Scooter Company After Several Accidents, Mother And Infant Injured By Rider

14.0               Auckland, New Zealand -Lime e-scooter hits woman on Auckland's Fanshawe St where man died

15.0               London, UK ‘Teenager electric scooter rider in critical condition after being struck by car in London’.

16.0              London, UK Television presenter Emily Hartridge dies in electric scooter crash

17.0               Elderly Woman Injured In E-Scooter Crash On Embarcadero

Appendix D               Examples of Problems of Regulating E-Scooter Use                            Pages 121 to 130

1.0              Spain

1.1              Malaga, Spain

1.2               Palma, Spain

2.0               Atlanta, USA (2 articles)

3.0                Singapore

4.0              Montreal, Canada

5.0              Los Angeles, USA

Appendix E - Disabled being injured by escooters, as well as access problems due to dockless escooters blocking pavements etc.                                                                                     Pages 131 to 156

1.0              California, Disability rights group sues scooter companies over clogged sidewalks

2.0               Texas, USA, Texas School for The Blind And Visually Impaired Calls On Scooter Riders To Be More Mindful

3.0               E-scooters suddenly appeared everywhere, but now they're riding into serious trouble

4.0              Auckland, New Zealand - Blind and visually impaired people want e-scooters off the footpath for good

5.0               Oslo, Norway- Oslo City Council Declares Electric Scooter Experiment in Norway As Chaos

6.0               Trip hazard for blind people: how dangerous are e-scooters?

7.0              Brisbane, Australia - Lime scooters are causing stress for Brisbane's vision impaired community

8.0              Disability advocate sues Minneapolis scooter companies

9.0               Duedin, New Zealand - Rules urged for 'hazard' scooters

Please note - warning

Some of the photos used in this evidence may cause distress, these are given in Section 2 and Section 4, and are from the McGee Lerer & Associates, Santa Monic, USA.

Submitted 4th June 2020

National Federation of the Blind of the UK[1], Second Edition.

No Time To Trial or Legalise E-Scooters in the UK

Significant Risk of Personal Injury Too Great for Britain in Time of Pandemic

This is the National Federation of the Blind of the UKs submission to the Transport Select Committee Inquiry into Escooter in the UK.

1.0              Overview

The legalisation and proposed trials of rented e-scooters should be abandoned to protect the NHS, protect public health and to protect public space for people to use their mobility aids, for people to undertake active travel and to allow social distancing during these activities. All efforts should be focused on ensuring safe and accessible environments for all.

• Significant evidence exists of e-scooter riders and pedestrians sustaining serious and minor injuries. Many have required emergency treatment as illustrated in Appendices A, B, C and E.

• Many injuries are created by riders falling off e-scooters, colliding with pedestrians and other cyclists; as well as pedestrians tripping over undocked e-scooters on pavements and in public spaces.

• The NHS needs protection from a new influx of people needing emergency treatment during the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic. This will continue after the pandemic due to treatment of existing patients whose elective surgeries have been put on hold during this period and new patients who have kept away from the NHS at the time.

• Public space should be protected and used to allow social distancing for active travel, for people to walk, cycle, use their mobility aids, use blue badge parking and to access public transport and undertaking shopping in clutter free environments.

2.0              Evidence

E-scooters have caused many serious and minor injuries, as well as some deaths, in city centres across the world where they have been deployed. 

• Appendix A shows graphic details of numerous horrific personal injuries to riders,  pedestrians and cyclists from law firm McGee Lerer & Associates based in Santa Monica, USA. Photos 1 to 3 below illustrate a few of these injuries.

• Appendix B details published research evidence highlights the immediate serious and minor injury risks posed by the introduction of rented e-scooters into urban areas.

• Appendix C contains just a few examples of the personal tragedies and serious injuries people are experiencing with the introduction of e-scooters in urban locations.

• Appendix D contains examples of where city authorities have tried to regulate escooter rider behaviour during and after use and have failed to ensure compliance.

• Appendix E contains examples of blind, partially sighted and disabled people being injured by escooters and having access blocked due to escooters left on pavements etc.

Photo 1 - McGee Lerer & Associates, Santa Monica, USA – 57-Year-Old Female E-scooter Rider Injury 10/11/18[2]

Photo 2 - McGee Lerer & Associates, Santa Monica, USA – 53-Year-Old Female E-scooter Rider Injury 05/9/18[3]

Photo – 3 McGee Lerer & Associates, Santa Monica, USA – 71-Year-Old Cyclist Rider Injury Hit by E-Scooter September 2018[4]

The following are extracts from three of the research papers and articles on escooter injuries:

The following extract from a research paper from Auckland New Zealand (Published 19 April 2019)[5] clearly shows the human impact of the introduction of e-scooters:

‘Introduction of shared e-scooters has resulted in a large number of serious related injuries that have required urgent radiology imaging.  Many of these patients required specialist consultation or surgery, and place an increased burden on overstretched emergency department services.  

‘While the impact on valuable limited resources such as emergency department imaging is considerable, the impact on so many young lives changed by these injuries is immeasurable. With the majority of injuries occurring in the working age group, the significance of morbidity due to these injuries should not be underestimated. Disability due to injury in this age group can results in extended time away from work – affecting both the individual and also company productivity’.

The following extract is taken from Published Epidemiology and Disease Surveillance Unit, Austin Public Health, City of Austin - April 2019[6]. Types of Injuries Sustained - From 190 recorded injuries (160 confirmed and 32 probable) the following injuries were recorded from the period 5 September to 30 November 2018:

‘Of the 190 injured riders, nearly half (48%) had injuries (e.g., fractures, lacerations, abrasions) to the head. In addition, 70% sustained injuries to the upper limbs (hands /wrist/arm/shoulder), 55% to the lower limbs (leg/knee/ankle/feet), and 18% to the chest/abdomen; multiple injuries across body regions were possible. Many individuals sustained injuries on their arms (43%), knees (42%), face (40%), and hands (37%).

Over a third (35%) of the injured riders sustained a bone fracture(s) (excluding nose/fingers/toes). Among this group, 19% had bone fractures (excluding nose/fingers/toes) involving multiple body regions. Figure 4 shows the bone fracture locations for injured riders. A high number experienced fractures on their arms and legs. Notably, six persons (3%) had fractures involving the head.

Almost half (80) of the injured riders had a severe injury. The severe injury for these riders included: bone fractures (excluding nose/fingers/toes) (84%); nerve, tendon, or ligament injuries (45%); spending more than 48 hours in the hospital (8%); severe bleed (5%), and sustained organ damage (1%).

Traumatic brain injuries include concussions and other forms of altered mental status or bleeding such as subarachnoid hemorrhage and subdural hematoma. Fifteen percent of riders had evidence suggestive of a traumatic brain injury. Less than one percent of individuals was wearing a helmet at the time of injury. Eighty-eight percent of injured riders were seen at an emergency department. Fourteen percent of all injured riders were hospitalized. None of the injured riders died during the study period’.

The following extract from the article ‘Disability rights group sues scooter companies over clogged sidewalks’(16 January 2019) [7]. A lawyer on behalf of ‘Disability Rights California’ stated:

"The scooter companies have treated our free public walkways as their own private rental offices, show rooms and storage facilities," said Bob Frank, lawyer for Neil, Dymott Attorneys, which filed the case in conjunction with Disability Rights California.  "People with disabilities need to have access to city sidewalks and their needs must come first."

"People with disabilities should not have to stay in their houses because they are afraid to venture out the door due to scooters blocking their pathway everywhere they go," Ann Menasche, lawyer for Disability Rights California, said in a statement. "They have a right to use the city sidewalks just like everyone else who lives or visits here."

This was from an article by MPR News article ‘ER doc: Stay off electric scooters’ published 16 September 2019[8]:

Seconds after impact, Tonie Pereira knew he was hurt badly. He touched his hand to his face and saw that his bicycle glove was soaked in blood. It ran from Pereira’s forehead and nose and flowed down his throat. Blood also filled his ears and eyes.

“There was a point where I couldn’t see much because my eyes were full of blood,” said Pereria, 47, of Woodbury.

A little over a month ago, Pereira was riding his bike on a bike path around Bde Maka Ska, formerly known as Lake Calhoun. He collided with another cyclist who had slowed down to clear an electric scooter lying across the bike trail.

Tonie Pereira holds pictures taken of him after he was injured - Brandt Williams | MPR News

Pereira landed on his face and suffered a broken nose and lacerations to his head, nose and upper lip, which needed 12 stitches to close. He later had to have surgery on his nose. It could have been much worse, said Pereira, had he not been wearing a helmet.

One of the emergency room doctors who saw him that day counts Pereira’s injuries as e-scooter related, even though he was not riding one. Over his 33-year career as an emergency doctor, Dr. Stephen W. Smith has seen a lot. But the electric-scooter-related injuries he’s seen this summer at Hennepin Healthcare are new.

“I can’t remember if it was April, May or June, but I remember that I started seeing a lot of them. And I was amazed at how many there were,” said Smith. “This was a brand new phenomenon ... none of us had ever experienced before.”

Smith estimates at least five people are treated in the ER each day for e-scooter-related injuries. That adds up to several hundred ER visits this summer. Unlike Pereira, the wounded are usually e-scooter riders. Smith takes out his cellphone to refer to a list of cases he’s treated personally in the past month.

“A person with road rash and a finger laceration,” reads Smith. “... somebody with a tibia [shin] fracture; another person with an ankle fracture; another person with a clavicle [shoulder] fracture; another person with a mandible [jaw] fracture.”

Head injuries are also common, said Smith. When riders fall forward, they often strike the ground head first. Smith said he’s yet to see an injured rider wearing a helmet. Helmets aren’t required by law for adults, yet e-scooter providers encourage riders to wear helmets. The only way to safely ride an e-scooter, said Hennepin Healthcare emergency room Dr. Stephen Smith, is with a helmet.

But better yet, he said, just don’t ride them.

“I just tell people, ‘they’re dangerous devices,’” he said, pointing out that the other doctors and residents he works with share his opinion. “That would be a total of about 100 doctors in our emergency department. We all think they’re dangerous devices.”

The following are experiences and concerns from NFBUK members and employee:

Karl Farrell, Executive Committee Member from London,

‘I, as a severely visually impaired pedestrian, collided with a parked dockless bike late at night while walking home.  The bike fell on my legs, cutting my shins and tearing my trouser leg.  The bike was standing diagonally on the footway so I did not have any warning of its presence before I collided with it.  I trust that an e-scooter would not be so heavy but I don't wish to trip over e-scooters discarded carelessly after their temporary users have finished with them’. 

This short twitter film illustrates the injuries Karl sustained when tripping over the dock less bike in London - https://twitter.com/seaofchangefilm/status/1219320450775425024?s=21

Sarah Leadbetter, Partially sighted female Guide Dog, Leicester:

‘Escooters are quiet and can go very fast, in comparison to my walking speed. As a partially sighted person with a Guide dog, I already have to share the pavement with bikes and street furniture and now I may have to share it with escooters, as there is no way the riders will keep to roads or to cycle paths.  I walk in the city where I live and I will not know that they are there and or when they will try come past me. This will happen suddenly and will be very scary and very dangerous. The person on the escooter could loose their balance and fall off to cause an accident to them, me and my Guide dog’.

Sarah Gayton, Shared Space Coordinator, NFBUK:

‘As a fully sighted visitor in San Diego, I did not relax once with e-scooters whizzing past me on the sidewalk, and I spent a lot of time trying to move the never-ending number of escooters dumped across the sidewalks. They were heavy and hard to move. There is no way a wheelchair user could move these out of the way. I witnessed e-scooters blocking crossings, sidewalks, left next to transport hubs and chaotic riding behaviour on riders’.

‘I was relieved to learn these were banned in the UK and I am now very worried that moves are being made to make them legal in the UK. Active travel will take a backstep if escooters are introduced, disabled people will face even more barriers to independent access on the pavement and many people will get seriously hurt in the process’.

This short twitter film illustrates the problems of dockless escooters https://twitter.com/seaofchangefilm/status/1061021898891554816?s=21.