Why Riding Electric Scooters in Bike Lanes Makes Us All Safer
Where do electric scooters belong? Some believe they’re not safe enough for our streets…but what if our streets aren’t safe enough for them?
Do you live in a major city, or frequent one from time to time? Then chances are you’ve seen at least one electric scooter riding past you either in a bike lane, on the pavement, or on the road. And whether you think electric scooters are a fad or the future, with negative views about these vehicles pervading the press, the question of their safety may have entered your mind at some point.
Do electric scooters belong shoulder to shoulder with pedestrians, bikes, or road vehicles? Are they safe enough to ride on the streets at all? These are some of the questions posed by journalists usually in the wake of an accident involving an e-scooter rider. But before jumping to conclusions, we need to ask ourselves if these are the right questions to be asking.
As a new form of technology, the confusion around electric scooters’ place on the road is understandable. But just because they are new, should we immediately push back and point a finger, declaring these vehicles unfit for the road? Or would it be more effective (and constructive) to explore whether our roads…
