E-Scooters, A Danger On the Streets and Sidewalks of Crown Height
by CrownHeights.info
A Lubavitch woman walking in Crown Heights got a close-up understanding of the dangers that E-Scooters present recently when she was struck by one barreling down the sidewalk of Albany Ave. The woman was hit so hard that she was violently thrown to the floor, sending her sheitel flying.
Just six weeks ago, another incident took place in Crown Heights. An older Melamed was on a sidewalk speaking with his son when he was struck without warning by a speeding scooter. Struck so hard that his shoe came off, the Melamed was saved by his son who managed to hold him up and stop him from falling to the ground. Not a young man, the Melamed has spent the last six weeks recovering but has still not regained complete use of his injured leg.
These are just some of the many injuries that have become more common on the streets of Crown Heights as E-Scooters become more widely used in our community.
“People have to know how dangerous these scooters are,” one victim told CrownHeights.info. “There are many stories out there that people are telling if you know to ask.”
E-Scooters can be seen at all hours of the day and night speeding along sidewalks and ripping the wrong way down streets. But E-Scooters aren’t just electrically propelled children’s toys, in fact, they are more akin to their danger of motorcycles and dirt bikes.
According to EurekaAlert, “The number of scooter-related injuries and hospital admissions in the United States grew by 222 percent between 2014 and 2018 to more than 39,000 injuries.” A separate study by the CDC calculates that for every 100,000 e-scooter trips taken, 20 individuals will end up with some sort of injury.
Since 2020, there have been 588 E-scooter accidents in New York City alone, with a total of 538 people injured in those accidents and at least three pedestrian deaths.
With a top speed of nearly 40 miles per hour, these commercially available scooters are a danger to not just their riders and pedestrians, but to vehicles as well.
In March of 2021, a perfect example of such an incident took place on Albany Ave with the outcome being a wrecked car and a destroyed home retaining wall.
Yet most of these riders treat their E-scooters like foot-propelled children’s toys, or at most like riding a bike. They can be seen riding on sidewalks and speeding while crossing streets dangerously, all without personal protection or regard for others.
Aware of the rising cases of injuries caused by these scooters, New York State enacted a law in August of 2020 that classified E-scooters similar to bikes, making them illegal to be driven on sidewalks.
The definition was very specific. Any “type of device with handlebars, a floorboard or a seat, and an electric motor that can be powered by the electric motor and/or human power” would fall under the category of an E-Scooter, and that you “cannot operate these devices on a sidewalk except as authorized by local law or ordinance.”
Despite it being illegal, it’s hardly a secret that the law is not being enforced, with more and more E-scooters hitting the streets every day.
Regardless, if you are driving an E-scooter, due regard for your and others’ safety should be paramount.
“It’s just extremely dangerous,” a Bronx Doctor told ABC7. “You absolutely should have on a helmet. You must protect your head because that’s where we see so much injury and so many fatal accidents.”
But the message apparently didn’t make it to everyone.
Shea Schneider
They should ban these in cities
Anonymous
Very true. Thank you for posting this & bringing it to the communitie’s attention. It is scary sometimes especially when they quietly whiz right by you so close you feel a breeze, but you never really heard it approaching.
Menachem
Yes, Yes, Yes!
Chaim
Thank you very much for bringing this up. I live on Union St. which phass very narrow sidewalk. I have almost been hit by an e-bike at least 10 times while coming down my stairs to the sidewalk.
I think that our own local business owners have to tell their delivery men thst they are not allowed to ride on the sidewalk or they will be fired.
In addation they should be told not to go through light
Mendy
These are safer to ride on the street than on the sidewalk (at least in narrow or congested sidewalks)
When I bought one for my son I took him out together on the scooter teaching him the rules of the road and things to look out for like cars with engines running or reverse lights one… someone may swing open a door any moment (this is most dangerous on sidewalks as they won’t be looking as muc
Mendy
As much, where as the street people always are checking) kids want them and they are great mode of transportation… so taking it away will not help rather they must be treated like driving a car… you need to learn, I put his on the limited speed setting until I felt he was ready… and then gave him a max speed I want him to go after… hatzalah take most e-scooter accidents from people not using the
Mendy
Stop sighs properly!
Eisenhower park near Roosevelt field mall just reopened there kids safety town where you can take kids to ride and learn the rules of the road
Yisroel
This article is so important and overdue. Hashem should help that no other people get injured, but we need to do our part and not do anything so overly dangerous.
I tell my kids “it’s not a scooter or bike, that also has a motor to make it easier, it’s a motorized vehicle in the shape of a scooter or bike”
The solution
Let’s put protected bike lanes on every street
Where
Where are you magically getting space for bike lanes? Some have but would turn into one lane instead of two and some like union wouldn’t even fit one
Drinking L'chaim is Safer
The same parents that protest yeshiva boys drinking l’chaims at farbrengens, are the same parents that buy these e-scooters or bikes for their kids. These dangerous “toys” often cause injuries to the head, spine or shattered bones, sometimes resulting in paraplegic and permanent brain injuries. A few l’chaims or even cigarettes (as bad as they are) don’t come close to the harm caused by scooters.
Unknown
I just want to point something out that it says 20 injury’s per 100,000 e-scooter rides,
Cars are way more dangerous because it has over 800 injury per 100,000
Debra
Pedestrians need helmets, too!
Almost got run over by a few Oholei Torah boys clumped together on their scooters.