Understanding the Drunk Scooter Accident
Scooter sharing has become a key part of urban transit infrastructure. The electric scooter is the ideal combination of compactness, agility, and eco-friendliness to bridge the awkward distance between long walks and short bus, train, or car rides. Services like Bird, Spin, and the Uber-backed Lime offer a genuine convenience for a manageable fee. Tired from a long day? Running late for a date or appointment? Sore from the gym? An electric scooter can turn a twenty minute walk into a five minute ride. However, this convenience can lead to short-sightedness, especially on the part of intoxicated persons. This can lead to unfortunate accidents. Worse yet, innocent bystanders can be victimized by their bad decisions. Today’s Malloy Law Offices blog post will examine a drunk scooter accident. We’ll also examine their impact on pedestrians as well as questions of liability. Let’s dive in.
The Quandary of Enforcement: Irresponsibility or Simple Reality?
The scooter and bike sharing companies forbid the operation of their vehicles while under the influence. The various release waivers and instructional materials included in the apps themselves stipulate this. Advertisements and public service announcements urging against drunk driving have begun to include scooters in anti-drunk driving messaging. Furthermore, you can in fact get a DUI ticket for drunk scootering.
This leads us neatly to the question of enforcement. You have already identified a key flaw in our legal framework to prevent drunk riding. While scooter-sharing companies protect themselves from liability via waivers and warnings, there’s no serious impediment to riding a scooter while drunk. Even for habitual offenders, ban-evasion and switching between platforms can allow these irresponsible riders to continue to engage in their reckless behavior until someone is seriously hurt or law enforcement intervene. Even in these circumstances, the increasingly automated character of traffic enforcement suggests that drunk riding may be a blind spot for many metropolitan police departments already facing full caseloads of felony offenses.
If You Are Involved in a Drunk Riding Accident
If you are a pedestrian involved in a collision with a drunk rider of an electric scooter, your health should be your number one priority. Do not hesitate to seek medical attention immediately if you feel any pain or discomfort which may indicate a serious injury. However, if you are able, there are steps you can take to strengthen any insurance claim or personal injury case in the immediate aftermath of the accident. These include:
- Call 911 – A police response to your accident will mean a police report is generated on your accident. A police report is a written account of your accident created by an impartial third party. The police may also be able to take the negligent scooter rider into custody, or issue them a ticket.
- Exchange Contact Details – All parties involved in the accident should exchange contact information along with insurance information.
- Take Pictures – If you are pursuing an insurance claim, criminal charges, or a personal injury lawsuit against the intoxicated rider, it can be very helpful to document the situation “as-is” in the immediate aftermath of the collision.
- Collect Witness Statements – The testimony of any eyewitnesses who were there at the accident scene can be extremely helpful. If they are willing, get their names and contact information.
What If the Rider Flees the Scene?
If an e-scooter rider flees the scene of the accident, this would be considered a hit and run. Most of the above advice still applies. However, the path to claiming compensation for any injuries sustained may be more complicated than it otherwise would have been. A personal injury attorney may be able to advise you of the best path forward.
Who is Liable?
In the case of drunk riding resulting in injury to an otherwise uninvolved pedestrian, the drunk rider would be clearly negligent and would have a high likelihood of being at fault for any injuries. However, this does not mean that it will be easy to claim compensation. The drunk rider will likely not have the necessary insurance coverage to be covered in the event of a scooter accident and may be unable to pay out of pocket. Furthermore, seeking compensation from the scooter sharing company is likely both too expensive and too time-consuming if it would even be possible in the first place. As we’ve discussed, these companies insulate themselves from the bad behavior of their customers. An experienced personal injury attorney can help guide you through this legal haze to just compensation.
How Malloy Law Can Help
If your or a loved one has been injured in a drunk scooter accident, Malloy Law is here to help. Our experienced personal injury team is standing by to evaluate your case free of charge and fight for maximum compensation on your behalf. Contact Malloy Law today and let’s win your case.
