I love e-scooters. They're fun to ride around on and, when there are enough of them in an urban area, you can just rely on them being there for transit. I've been so disappointed by the public's reaction to scooters, though. They don't see how cars are significantly worse, in terms of the personal cost, public safety and destruction of urban spaces.
Like, just to put this in perspective, I did a bit of digging behind the Atlanta ban. It happened right after (and as a direct result of) these events:
- A 34 year old woman on an e-scooter was murdered* by a driver of a car, in a hit-and-run. [1]
- A 20 year old man on an e-scooter was killed by a negligent driver of an SUV who was charged with 2nd degree homicide. [2]
- A 37 year old man was killed by the driver of a bus who did not see him. Passengers on the bus say he was banging on the bus to alert the driver as he was crushed to death. I'm not able to find out if the bus driver was ever charged for this death. [3]
- A homeless man (of unknown age?) on an e-scooter was killed by a truck. In this case, it does look like the e-scooter ran a red light and the driver was not at fault. [4]
So in 2 out of 4 cases, clearly the car was at fault. The city reached first for not limiting cars in any way, but rather limiting scooters. I mean, I get it. There was no structure for doing anything to cars or the system that causes people to drive everywhere. And to be fair to Atlanta, the ban on scooters was only at night.
We know there are ways to structure cities and traffic laws to make safer spaces for pedestrians and cyclists. Bad saldy, here in America, we are so reluctant to reach for those options. We have so many parking lots, so many stroads, so few walkable spaces. Whenever there's conflict between cars and people, we blame people. And then build extra lanes and extra parking lots and it just gets worse.
By the way, this problem with cars happens here in San Francisco too: My friends and I have all seen an explosion of bad behavior by drivers, including a friend of mine who struck last year in a hit-and-run, breaking his femur. This is not just anecdote: Pedestrian deaths are on the rise here, while citations plummet. [5]
Like, just to put this in perspective, I did a bit of digging behind the Atlanta ban. It happened right after (and as a direct result of) these events:
- A 34 year old woman on an e-scooter was murdered* by a driver of a car, in a hit-and-run. [1]
- A 20 year old man on an e-scooter was killed by a negligent driver of an SUV who was charged with 2nd degree homicide. [2]
- A 37 year old man was killed by the driver of a bus who did not see him. Passengers on the bus say he was banging on the bus to alert the driver as he was crushed to death. I'm not able to find out if the bus driver was ever charged for this death. [3]
- A homeless man (of unknown age?) on an e-scooter was killed by a truck. In this case, it does look like the e-scooter ran a red light and the driver was not at fault. [4]
So in 2 out of 4 cases, clearly the car was at fault. The city reached first for not limiting cars in any way, but rather limiting scooters. I mean, I get it. There was no structure for doing anything to cars or the system that causes people to drive everywhere. And to be fair to Atlanta, the ban on scooters was only at night.
We know there are ways to structure cities and traffic laws to make safer spaces for pedestrians and cyclists. Bad saldy, here in America, we are so reluctant to reach for those options. We have so many parking lots, so many stroads, so few walkable spaces. Whenever there's conflict between cars and people, we blame people. And then build extra lanes and extra parking lots and it just gets worse.
By the way, this problem with cars happens here in San Francisco too: My friends and I have all seen an explosion of bad behavior by drivers, including a friend of mine who struck last year in a hit-and-run, breaking his femur. This is not just anecdote: Pedestrian deaths are on the rise here, while citations plummet. [5]
1. * I am not sure if "murder" is legally applicable in this case, but to me, if you strike and kill someone in your car and then run, you're a murderer. https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/atlanta/scooter-rider-hit-k...
2. https://www.bikelaw.com/2019/06/driver-charged-in-death-of-e...
3. https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/atlanta/scooter-rider-hit-k...
4. https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/south-fulton-county/man-on-...
5. https://sfbayca.com/2022/07/05/traffic-deaths-in-san-francis...