Lime Scooters newest ‘menace’ on city streets: injury prevention expert

CALGARY (660 NEWS) – They are the latest addition in Calgary’s downtown core, Lime electric scooters.

However, before you hop on and give them a try, be advised that the motorized devices go pretty fast, and for some maybe too fast.

There have already been reports of people falling off the scooters and ending up in the emergency room.

Injury Prevention expert Dr. Louis Francescutti said in Alberta, traffic safety just isn’t taken seriously enough, and these scooters are the latest menace to be added to our streets.

“That is why it(injury) continues to be one of the leading causes of deaths, especially under the age of 35,” Dr. Francescutti said. “There just is not enough enforcement out there, and police officers are going to say ‘ya right I’m going to worry about these things now’, they aren’t.”

Dr. Francescutti said that he almost hit one the other day when it crossed right in front of him while he was driving.

“The speeds that riders are getting, are giving them, I don’t know, this invincibility, making them think that they can do things they can’t do on bicycles.”

He explains what was even more concerning was the fact the man was not wearing a helmet. The scooters fall under bicycle laws so head protection is not mandatory.

Dr. Francescutti predicts there will be a lot of head injuries, plus broken bones associated with the e-scooters, adding because they are on sidewalks. pedestrian injuries are inevitable.

He said that there have already been deadly incidents in some U.S. cities where Lime has operated for several months.

Francescutti doubts city or provincial politicians will crack down and do something to prevent injuries caused by the scooters.

660 NEWS reached out to Alberta Health Services about the number of injuries being seen due to the scooters.

Calgarians have taken to Reddit to share their opinion of the scooters.

One user on Reddit posted “I saw a guy turn abruptly along the river walk in east village and hit a cyclist. Knocked him off his bike.”

Others noted the same issues, stating that they had close calls with the newest mode of transportation.

“Lots of apparently intoxicated riders flying down busy sidewalks at 20 km/h nearly mowing down children and elderly,” is how one user started their review of the scooters.

This user notes that riders who are intoxicated should have to follow the same laws as operating a motor vehicle and “the full force of the Alberta and Federal criminal laws Driving Under the Influence apply in every way exactly as if you were driving a car down the road.”

However, there is another side to this discussion where people are defending the scooters.

One Reddit user writing “I’ve had zero issues so far. It makes getting around DT 1000x easier than trying to find parking.”

With another user writing that they believe once the novelty wears off they will be a useful model of transportation downtown adding “I’ve only managed to get on one once so far, as they seem to mainly get used by groups of teenagers flying up and down 17th for fun at the moment.”

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