California Personal Injury Lawyers Blog
What is the effect of dockless eletctic scooters, also called e-scooters, in the City of Glendale?
Are these e-scooters contributing to causing more accidents in Glendale, Los Angeles and elsewhere?
What should cities like Glendale do in regulating the use of dockless or e-scooters?
These are some of the issues that Glendale government officials have been considering, and according to the Los Angeles Times (Tuesday, May 28, 2019, at B3) Glendale officials have put off making any decision for the time being, instead waiting to see how the state of California and cities neighboring Glendale decide to handle this hot issue.
According to Glendale’s assistant director of community development, Bradley Calvert, the only thing in place in Glendale pertaining to this issue is a ban on all propelled devices, such as skateboards, in Glendale’s central business district.
One proposal was to declare a designated area in Glendale where two (2) companies that would be selected by the city of Glendale could operate a maximum of 1000 such devices, including 250 bikes, during the hours from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. It was reported that this proposed plan included a requirement that the two (2) selected operators would be required to provide riders with safety education, maintain at least ten (10) million dollars in liability insurance, and collect data as required by Glendale.
Glendale had no consensus of opinion on how to handle this issue, so its city council unanimously voted to table this issue until California moved forward in setting some policies on this issue. The Times reported that the California State Assembly, by way of Assembly Bill 1112, is currently considering ways how California cities should shape policies to handle shared mobility devices. No estimate was provided when this bill (law) may be finalized.
City council members voiced many concerns, including safety of its residents, saying, among other things, there is concern over the ability of riders to safely ride these mobile devices. Remember, even though these mobile devices are small, careless riding may cause a car or truck to suddenly need to change directions, resulting in a traffic collision with severe injuries, possibly even a death with a wrongful death claim. Therefore, it is very impotent to provide some education, regulation and mandatory insurance coverages to protect the public and those involved in scooter accidents.
Clearly, much more information would be helpful and its wise to consider how other cities and government entities, including cities in other countries, are regulating these mobile devices. If you have any experience or thoughts on this issue, we invite you to share them with us (email: info@WalchLaw.com) and the Glendale City Council.
Should you or any family member have any injury accident resulting from an e-scooter, bike or other device, we invite you to contact us right away for an absolutely FREE consultation.