MOUNT VERNON — Despite their apparent rise in popularity, there is very little information in the United States about the safety or accident records of electric mobility scooters. Popular with the elderly and people with mobility issues, these electric scooters, similar to motorized wheelchairs, are being offered as part of some health insurance plans, according to consumer advocates.
Even though hospitals keep extensive records, most are more likely to track specific injuries as opposed to the circumstances of any given type of accident.
In Europe however, the British have passed several laws regarding the devices and eight deaths were attributed to people riding in traffic in 2005. There are an estimated 250,000 of these scooters in metropolitan areas in Britain.
According to the BBC, the most common accident occurs when people ride their scooters down crowded streets. Some safety advocates claim that because of the scooters’ reduced height, pedestrians are unaware of them and collisions often occur, resulting in leg or fall injuries.
In the United States, these mobility scooters are prohibited from use on public roads and are confined to sidewalk areas or inside stores or malls.
Some experts claim that deteriorating sidewalks often force users to take to the street when roadside conditions become unpassable.
In St. Petersburg, Fla., an 84-year-old man was killed three weeks ago when he attempted to navigate his scooter across six lanes of traffic. The man was struck by an oncoming pickup truck and died at the scene.
The News was unable to find any statistical information regarding scooter accidents in the United States or Ohio. However, in an article in the St. Petersburg Times, a representative of the Consumer Product Safety Commission said, “[Recreational] scooters continue to outrank injuries associated with the motorized scooters, but we are still seeing too many deaths involving motorized scooters.”
