Accidents Involving Electric Scooters are on the Rise in Dallas

It’s easier than ever to get around in Dallas. First came Uber and Lyft, then came bike-share enterprises such as LimeBike. The third wave has hit Dallas...electric scooters.

The convenience is obvious -- they lock and unlock via smartphone app, and they cruise at up to 15 mph without you having to do any of the work yourself. However, there are downsides to this new convenient mode of transportation, most important of which, is the mounting casualty toll.

The electric rent-a-scooter phenomenon is so new that meaningful accident statistics are hard to come by. Nevertheless, anecdotal reports strongly suggest that electric scooter accidents have surged in 2018, in in the wake of the entry of rent-a-scooter companies such as Bird and Lime into the Dallas market.

What do you need to know about electric scooters in Dallas?

Local Electric Scooter Regulations

Scooter use is regulated by the Texas Transportation Code and local municipal regulations. Some of the more salient features include:

• Scooters cannot operate on the sidewalks of the Dallas business district, including Downtown and Deep Ellum.
• Scooters are only allowed on roads where the speed limit is 35 mph or lower.
• Riders under 18 must wear a helmet.
• No license or registration is required.
• Riders must ride as far to the right as feasible except when making a left turn.

Who's liable in and electric scooter accident?

Although anyone involved in a scooter accident might be held liable under certain circumstances (even pedestrians), some parties are more likely to be liable than others.

Scooter riders

If you were injured in an accident that was caused directly or indirectly by an electric scooter, you should know that in Texas, violation of traffic safety regulations might be treated as automatic negligence. A rider cruising along a 55 mph roadway at the time of an accident, for example, might be ruled negligent simply by virtue of breaking the law that forbidding riding on streets where the speed limit exceeds 35 mph.

Motorists

Motorists may be found negligent in an electric scooter accident for many of the same reasons they may be negligent in the case of a motorcycle accident. Since electric scooter are legally supposed to be ridden on the street, car drivers may not pay close enough attention to the much smaller and less visible electric scooters that are sharing the streets. Unfortunately, electric scooter riders face a greater risk of serious injury when in an accident

• Many motorists are simply not looking out for scooters
• automobile-scooter accidents tend to result in serious injury
• and most motorists carry liability insurance, giving your lawyers a clear target to aim at.

Electric Scooter Rental Companies (Bird, LimeBike, etc.): A scooter rental company might be held liable for an accident if the cause can be traced to negligence on the part of the rental company. For example, inadequate maintenance resulting in engine failure just as you were making a left-turn into fast-moving traffic might result in product liability.

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Attorney Jeff Rasansky speaks with WFAA 8 about the risks of riding electric scooters in Dallas.

The recent approval for Bird and Lime to deploy electric scooters in Dallas raises questions about liability as accidents are accidents are being reported.