E-Scooters Result in Serious Injuries in Denver, but Laws are Rarely Enforced

Ride-share e-scooters have become a popular mode of transportation among Americans. 158 U.S. cities, including Denver, implement ride-share e-scooter systems. However, the increased use of e-scooters in city areas has led to a significant rise in pedestrian injuries resulting from scooter accidents.

According to District 10 City Councilman Chris Hinds’s presentation to the Budget and Policy Committee on August 5, 2024, Denver Health receives an estimated 3.9 ER visits per day due to injuries resulting from e-scooter use. From January 1, 2021 to November 30, 2023, the daily cost of these injuries exceeded $62,000 with the total cost being $65,997,883.00.

Some major cities such as New Orleans, Las Vegas, and Paris have banned these scooters outright due to the concern of injury, while others have implemented measures aimed at making these scooters safer to use in city areas. These measures include GPS monitoring that will slow scooters to 3 MPH if traveling on the sidewalk. San Francisco requires that vendors have riders lock the scooter to an appropriate place at the end of their ride or else the meter will continue to charge the rider.

While the City of Denver does have laws in place regulating the use of e-scooters in the city, these laws are rarely enforced. The Denver Police Department has issued less than 10 citations since 2018 involving scooters and the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure has issued zero citations.

For these reasons, the Lower Downtown Neighborhood Association (LoDoNa) Pedestrian Safety Committee is urging the city of Denver to implement similar practices in light of the nuisance and injury caused by the use of e-scooters in city areas.

If you’ve been injured by an e-scooter, or while utilizing an e-scooter, you may be entitled to compensation. Contact the injury attorneys at Bloch Ongert for a free case evaluation.