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Are Electric Scooters Safer Than Motorcycles?

Are-Electric-Scooters-Safer-Than-Motorcycles

While electric scooters have become the new norm, have you ever thought if they’re safe enough?

Or, to talk about things more precisely, are electric scooters safer than motorcycles?

We usually treat them as toys with which we played and roamed around when younger and often forget that riding them on a busy road will make us equally prone to accidents.

It’s true that electric scooters are excellent alternatives to motorcycles and are for the same purpose – commuting.

But, whether electric scooters are safe or not has now become a huge controversy, and you’ll find its defenders as well as oppressors.

So, let’s get into the details and see real studies conducted to check the safety levels of electric bikes compared to motorcycles.

Are Electric Scooters Statistically Safer Than Motorcycles?

As the safety offered by electric scooters and motorcycles have hit many people with confusion, several studies were conducted to check whether electric scooters are safer than motorcycles.

A study was conducted in Austin in 2018, which tracked scooter injuries for three months.

This survey found out that out of 5,000 scooter rides, one ride involved an injury.

However, it also had another shocking revelation that only 1 rider out of 190 riders who faced injuries was wearing a helmet.

Another research suggested that the injuries due to electric bike accidents were similar to the motorcycle-related injuries.

As children can freely ride e-scooters, they’re more likely to have head and face injuries.

Recently, a study was also conducted by JAMA, which noticed injuries occurred due to e-bikes in a one-year duration.

According to this study, 249 people were injured in accidents due to electric scooters, and 229 were riding the bikes themselves.

The remaining were pedestrians who got hit by a scooter.

However, it also included people who got hurt carrying a scooter and those who accidentally tipped over a scooter parked incorrectly.

Like the previous studies, this one also revealed that only 4% of the scooter riders were wearing helmets.

Not wearing an electric scooter helmet has been the primary cause of increasing head injuries due to electric scooter accidents.

So, after reading the statistics, we can say that electric scooters are not safer than motorcycles.

We will discuss factors that account for this.

But, one of the primary causes is also the negligence shown by the riders, which results in severe head injuries.

What Makes Electric Scooters Less Safe Than Motorcycles?

The fact that electric scooters have faced more accidents than motorcycles in the past years have helped us put some considerations into account.

Here are the reasons why electric scooters have caused more accidents than motorcycles.

People Still Use Them For Fun

Although electric scooters were introduced as a source of fun and activities for kids, they later became a source of transport as well.

So, companies introduced scooters with better features to make them up to industry standards.

That way, electric scooters became suitable for commuting.

But, it seems people are still using them as they are a source of fun while riding them in heavy traffic, and that too, without wearing any safety equipment themselves.

As mentioned before, most of the injuries reported due to e-bike accidents were also associated with the riders not wearing a helmet.

Just think about yourself!

How do you go out on your electric scooter?

A helmet would be more than enough for you. But, when riding on bikes, people use proper safety gear, shoes, and even jackets to protect themselves from fatal accidents.

But, that’s not the case with electric scooters riders, although both the scooters and motorcycles ride on busy roads with traffic.

Electric Bikes Aren’t Easily Visible

As motorcyclists are easily visible due to the large motorcycle frame and the riders wearing proper equipment, the cars and trucks can see them easily on the road.

However, that’s not the case with e-scooters.

They have a stem-like frame, and the rider stands on it to ride.

Thus, they aren’t easily visible to trucks and cars, especially from a distance.

 That is why several e-bike accidents occur when a car collides with an e-scooter on a crossroad.

Electric Scooters Have Small Tires

The smaller tires of electric scooters compared to motorcycles is a major contributor to the accidents.

In general, electric scooters have tires measuring 6-inch, 8-inch, or 10-inch, with a rare case of a scooter having 12-inch tires.

But, motorcycles have 25-inch tires on average.

So, electric scooters cannot handle obstacles.

We already know that roads have a bumpy texture where the tires of motorcycles can easily ride.

But, electric scooters usually face issues with stability, and the rider also feels jolts, which makes them uncomfortable.

As smaller tires of electric scooters cannot absorb impact, they are also more prone to accidents.

Electric Bikes Are Slow

While motorcycles can reach top speeds more than 100 mph, electric scooters have a limited top speed of 15-20 mph.

Companies keep the speed lower to make the scooters safe, but the results can also be opposite, especially when riding scooters in heavy traffic.

If you ride your electric scooter on the sidewalk or empty road, you’re not likely enough to face an accident.

But, when riding in high traffic, the speed of the electric scooter is much slower than that of a motorcycle.

Cars and motorcycles pass by the scooters at high speeds, which is generally not safe.

So, expert riders always opt for fast electric scooters to keep them up with the traffic.

Otherwise, they’ll keep moving slowly, and higher speed cars may hit them.

Electric Scooters Don’t Have Robust Features

When comparing an electric scooter to a motorcycle, which one has better and robust features?

Of course, the motorcycle.

The less rugged features of electric bikes are also a reason for the significant drop in price.

All motorcycles have necessary features like a robust brake, turn signals, lights, etc., to make the ride comfortable.

But, electric scooters don’t have all of them.

Even the brakes of all electric scooters aren’t efficient enough, and people complain about them getting locked while trying to stop the scooter.

If these faults are in your scooter, too, you’re definitely making every ride dangerous.

But, these faulty features aren’t in every electric scooter.

The riders also understand the features, and if the brakes lock, they know how to prevent it.

So, expert scooter riders are less likely to face accidents due to the less sophisticated features of electric scooters.

Electric Scooters Aren’t Safe For Travelling At Night

When we say that electric scooters aren’t safe for night rides, we mean it.

These scooters have an inferior lighting system, and even if the headlight is bright enough to make the road visible, the rear light is barely visible.

This decreased visibility makes other vehicles think that you aren’t present on the road, and they might just hit you without noticing.

Also, you’ll not find lights in every electric scooter.

Only some of them have these, and they don’t put enough purpose as well.

On the other hand, motorcycles have large and bright headlights and rear lights to inform other vehicles about their presence on the road.

Anyone Can Ride An Electric Scooter

When talking about motorcycles, we need a proper driving license and have to be 18 years old to drive them.

But, even kids can ride an electric scooter without a license.

It also accounts for an increased rate of injuries as kids aren’t trained enough and might race with electric scooters out of excitement.

Electric scooters aren’t also expensive enough, and people leave them parked in the middle of the street or road.

That is why we also see a few cases of people tipping over a parked electric scooter.

Final Words

Although various statistics and reports prove that electric scooters are less safe than motorcycles, we can still make them safer.

The best thing to do is wear a helmet, as most of the injuries occur due to the riders not wearing one.

You can also make your electric scooter safer by investing in a high-quality scooter with robust features.

We recommend not riding the scooter in the middle of the road, as the slower speed and less visibility may make you prone to accidents.

If you follow all the safety rules and ride the scooter properly, you’ll definitely enjoy a safe and comfortable ride.

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