French academy of medicine concerned over increase in electric scooter accidents - RFI English

10 percent of French radical accidental they are regular users of electrical scooters and 3 quarters of them are betwixt 18 and 30 years old, according to a caller study by the French Academy of Medicine, relaying figures collected from nationalist records.  

According to roadworthy information authorities, 24 radical died pursuing a scooter mishap successful 2021 successful France and 11,256 others were injured.

At the extremity of August, 2022, determination had been 19 deaths involving scooters. 

In 9 retired of 10 accidents, scooter users were not wearing a helmet.

The Academy of Medicine is pushing to change this and marque the wearing of helmets compulsory.

Such rules have already been applied successful different countries such as Japan and South Korea and cities specified arsenic Quebec, Los Angeles and Barcelona.

Careless behaviour

According to the academy, 75 percent of accidents were isolated falls, often associated with carelessness.

Excessive speed, depletion of alcohol, inattentiveness, one-handed driving and compartment telephone usage were besides factors.

The beingness of an obstacle connected the roadworthy lone existed in 1 3rd of cases, the study found.

Injuries often concerned the forearms, elbows and wrists, but caput injuries were besides precise common.

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Cranial trauma, fracture of the jaw and nose are overmuch much predominant aft a autumn from a scooter than aft a autumn from a bicycle, the study found.

The Academy of Medicine is besides pushing for stricter manufacturing standards that would assistance amended safety.

It regrets that implicit state is near to manufacturers to specify the beingness of indicators oregon not, the diameter of the wheels and the width of the level of these scooters.

Today, the platforms are connected mean lone 14 cm wide. It would instrumentality 10 cm much for an big to enactment their feet broadside by broadside and truthful person a much unchangeable riding position, the study points out.

Fatal falls

To woody with the rising fig of accidents, sometimes fatal, cities person begun to modulate the two-wheel fleets that person flooded the marketplace since 2018.

Nice, Montpellier and Toulouse person banned self-service scooters completely.

In Paris, speeds for rental scooters are now capped astatine 10 km/h successful designated "slow zones" successful cardinal arsenic of November 2021, with an allowance of 20 km/h connected large roads and rhythm ways.

Since September, the metropolis of Lyon has banned minors from utilizing self-service scooters.

The regularisation was brought successful a period aft the decease of Iris and Warren, aged 15 and 17, successful a  fatal collision with an ambulance connected 22 August, 2022.

But clamping down connected property limits does not truly person Gilles Bagou, an exigency anesthetist astatine a infirmary successful Lyon.

In his 2021 report, which was published successful a technological journal, Bagou wrote that the fig of radical injured successful scooter accidents successful the Rhône portion had multiplied by 7 betwixt 2017 and 2019 successful Lyon.

Awareness 

He pointed retired that caput injuries represented "around 20 percent for cyclists successful accidents, compared to 37 percent for scooter users".

"The autumn mechanics is different connected a scooter, with a much guardant tilt, implicit the handlebars. As for bicycles, radical autumn much to the side," Bagou told BFM TV connected Monday.

He says prohibiting minors from taking self-service scooters is not enough.

"The occupation is awareness. If young radical are informed of however to thrust a scooter, determination volition beryllium less accidents. We should besides spot if this prohibition connected minors is truly respected," he continues.