pedestrian safety

E-Scooters Returning to Chicago

March 29, 2020 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

After a widely covered 4-month test run of Chicago’s pilot scooter program, the city has officially announced that the controversial and efficient scooters will be returning at some point in 2020. The second pilot, which has yet to be given a start date, will certainly bring about more polarizing opinions regarding whether this new transit method should stay for good or officially be banned by the city. As we have written in the past, the lack of regulations for these scooters render those who use them incredibly vulnerable. Coupled with the fact that most often these scooters are being used in bicycle lanes, this not only places the riders at risk, but it places bicyclists in harm’s way as these scooters can ride up to 15mph in the city.

After the initial 2019 pilot program ended in October of 2019, the Transportation and Business Affairs and Consumer Protection departments of the City released a report establishing that during the length of the pilot program there were 821,615 trips logged on the scooters. Of that large number of rides, 192 injuries requiring trips to the hospital were reported. After seeing this disparity, you may believe that the numbers are far too low for people to be skeptical of adopting scooters in the city. Afterall, over 821,000 rides is significant for a 4-month pilot program. However, those numbers must not deceive us. By the city adopting another method of transportation and allowing for it to take place without any strict rules or regulations, it places Chicago residents at a severe disadvantage and adds another dimension to what is already a fragile infrastructure that is growing denser. Included in the report released by the City was a survey that found that the most significant negative feedback centered around both safety and parking, and for good reason. True, these scooters offer an efficient and individual commuting experience that many who aren’t willing to ride a bike to work or school can easily get on board with. But at what cost? Why risk putting yourself in danger when the city has yet to establish any real safeguards?

This argument does not serve the function of holding that the scooters should be completely banned. Chicago faces a real issue when it comes to traffic congestion and as we all know, traffic congestion raises the cost of maintenance on vehicles, but also increases the likelihood for situations that have dangerous ramifications. With that being said, scooters have proven, through the 2019 pilot run, that they serve a purpose. There is no denying that over 800,000 rides were logged in a 4-month period. As impressive as that number is, it simply cannot take away from the fact that nearly 200 riders were injured in those 4 months. There’s a reason cities are beginning to heavily regulate scooter use and many have issued temporary bans. Why regulate all other forms of transportation in Chicago and fail to adequately establish appropriate standards of care for scooters? The fact that they are relatively new should not be an excuse.

Turning towards the future, Curbed Chicago was able to obtain a statement from Stefan Shaffer, City Strategist for the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), in which he stated “as Chicago wrestles with its response to traffic congestion, air pollution and climate change, the e-scooter pilot gave people a popular and low-cost option to ditch their cars, which should continue.” Further, Mr. Shaffer also went into detail in an article published by the NRDC in which the e-scooter program was again touted for the safety precautions the city took. “Before the program began in June, the City met with various community leaders, disability rights advocates, transportation groups and other stakeholders to ensure the scooter pilot would enhance mobility for residents. The City’s extensive regulations and preparedness for issues with the scooters ultimately contributed to the low number of incident reports and injuries over the 800,000 rides taken during the pilot.” For what it’s worth, Mr. Shaffer is not wrong, in fact it has been good to see that the scooters were implemented into the city and so many rides were taken. However, one cannot help but argue that when it came to city regulations and enforcement, the pilot program had plenty of areas to be addressed. Before we go “all-in” and hold that scooters deserve the same amount of space in public transit as bicycles, properly enforcing the abundant number of scooters left in the middle of sidewalks, riders taking scooters outside the appropriate zones, and use of scooters in streets, should be an absolute priority.

As a City, we should want a diverse experience for all residents and that includes transportation options that are affordable and convenient. However, even in instances where the City is “testing” whether to adopt certain approaches to alleviate traffic congestion, rider and pedestrian safety should remain the first priority and not be sidestepped because a new form of transit proved to be efficient. In fact, one should truly begin to ask questions about what happens when these scooters are present throughout the long winter months. No matter what, safety should remain at the forefront of the discussion.

Pedestrian Traffic Deaths Are At A Ten Year High – Too Much Screen Time Could Be A Cause

March 2, 2020 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

A newly published study by the Governor’s Highway Safety Association, a not-for-profit comprised of the highway safety offices of the 50 states, better known as the organization behind the click-it or ticket campaign, is suggesting that pedestrian deaths in motor vehicle incidents are at a ten year high. The numbers seem to match the claim. Incidents of pedestrian deaths in car crashes are up while other traffic deaths are declining. Therefore, the percentage of traffic fatalities involving pedestrians now comprises a larger percentage than before. These are the worst numbers since 1990.

Bigger Cars Means More Damage

The study links the fact that there are more SUVs on the road now than before as a possible cause of the increase in fatalities. A heavier vehicle has the potential of causing greater damage than a smaller passenger car like a sedan. Pedestrian deaths involving SUVs went up 50% between 2013 and 2017.

Vehicle trends are definitely changing. People want bigger cars. Automakers are responding in kind, limiting their offerings for smaller cars in the US. For people with families, purchasing a small car or a sedan is an unlikely choice. People also feel safer in bigger cars. The perception is that larger vehicles offer greater crash safety protection. As other categories of motor vehicle crash deaths decrease, it gets harder to argue against that conclusion.

There Are More Nighttime Crashes Too

The study points to other factors as well. Nighttime crash deaths are increasing. Pedestrian deaths seem to be increasing in numerous categories. When the publishers looked at nighttime vs. daytime fatalities, instances at night were up 45% from 2008 to 2017, whereas daytime instances went up by 11%.

Any premature loss of life is tragic. Pedestrians and drivers alike would be well served by keeping an eye out for one another as both groups certainly have the right to travel using surface streets. It’s common sense that anyone who goes anywhere should try and take proper safety precautions. However, the study also looks at population growth as a factor contributing to these alarming statistics. With increasingly bigger cars and more people in a given town, there could be more opportunities where drivers and people on foot will encounter one another, meaning the more that people proceed with caution when going from place to place, the better.

We Need to Pay Attention to Distracted Driving

One more possible factor contributing to this increase in pedestrian traffic deaths is people not paying attention to the road or where they are going. We certainly have an increasing number of big cars out on the road, but we also have more electronic devices. Screen time has significantly increased since 2008.

Consumers were first introduced to the iPhone in June of 2007. Since then, the image of a person with their eyes glued to a tiny screen has become ever present. If you ever look around at the drivers next to you when you’re stopped at a red light, unfortunately, it won’t be uncommon for one of those people to be holding up a smartphone.

The evidence against allowing drivers to use handheld electronics is mounting. Illinois, among other states, has passed stricter rules regarding the use of mobile devices behind the wheel. Some researchers have equated using a smartphone while driving as similar to being drunk and getting behind the wheel. Both have been shown to slow down reaction times and decrease our ability to focus on what’s going on outside our windshields. Just think of your own experiences. If you have ever missed a turn because you were having a conversation with a passenger, imagine how poorly you drive trying to send a text message.

The one thing we all have control over is the use of our phones. Whether you are a pedestrian or a driver, there can be no debate – if you’re looking at a screen, you are not looking where you are going. If you need to check your phone, the best thing to do is go to a safe place. If you’re driving, find a safe place to pull over. If you’re walking, find a safe place to stop. When it comes to injuries or death, none should be the result of smartphone distraction.

In the News – Week of September 2nd

September 6, 2019 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

New Data Provides Further Insight on Chicago’s Scooters

A new study conducted by DePaul University researchers has discovered that the electric scooters the city recently adopted as part of a four-month long trial are now being used as legitimate choices for commuting during morning and evening rush hour periods. What was once deemed a fad that many cities throughout the United States were quickly shutting down due to safety hazards and an overall lack of regulations for the public has now shown that maybe they are more useful than originally thought. The study, which was done by the Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Planning, looked at 12 hours of data from a single day in the month of July. Ultimately, what this data was able to show was that in the roughly 2000 scooters trips that were taken in single day, a majority of the rides took place between 7-9am and 5-7pm.

As many in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs already know, traffic in the city can be grueling. Just like any large city, it seems that the traffic will simply never end. This new research seems to suggest that some individuals throughout the city may be turning from public transportation and vehicles altogether, and joining the scooter sharing fleet. Joseph P. Schwieterman, one of the researchers who conducted the study stated “I thought perhaps scooters were a novelty and people would use them in their leisure time, to make their social activities a little easier, but what we found is that rush hour is when most of the money is being made.” Such results from the pilot program are very important to note. While the scooters may seem like non-factor in the larger view of the city’s infrastructure as a whole, the reality is that people will go to great lengths to make their trips quicker in the morning and evening. While Chicago has clearly experienced the negatives associated with scooters, data such as this may begin changing people’s perspectives of the scooter sharing program altogether.

Of course, just because people are beginning to adopt the pilot program, does not mean it is in the best interest of city residents. As we have continuously covered, allowing scooters within city limits poses a severe risk to pedestrians and bicyclists in the city, as well as the scooter riders themselves. At this point, there have not been any developments regarding the most pressing issue – the fact that the scooter companies have failed to establish insurance coverage for riders. This effectively creates an insurance gap which could place riders in a dangerous and expensive situation if an accident were to occur. All of this is to say that while the scooters become more popular and the city becomes accustomed to seeing them, the city should also be making strides to make them much safer and establish further regulations that ensure that riders and the surrounding public are protected legally as well.

Lightfoot to Hold Town Hall on Budget Spending; Updates Expected Regarding the City’s Infrastructure

Mayor Lightfoot has announced that she will be holding several town hall meetings for Chicagoans in September 2019 to allow for open discussion regarding the City’s budget as a broader attempt to provide transparency to the city’s residents. One of the topics that will likely be discussed is how the city plans on spending the significant increase in funding it is set to receive as part of Governor Pritzker’s $45 billion capital plan that was announced in May of 2019.

We previously wrote on the plan’s overall impact on the crumbling infrastructure throughout the state, especially the roads and freeways connecting Chicago to the surrounding suburbs. Mayor Lightfoot’s townhall should hopefully provide some further updates on announced projects, such as the Kennedy Expressway reconstruction and the I-80 Ridge Road to Lincoln Highway rebuild. While these projects will likely take a significant amount of time to be completed, its important they are followed through as it was announced earlier in May that Illinois drivers were losing roughly $18.3 billion per year due to poor infrastructure and traffic.

Further, the City of Chicago has released a 2020 Budget Survey that asks city residents which areas of the budget should receive reduced or increased spending. If you are interested in attending any of the meetings, see below for further information:

6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Wednesday, September 4 at the Copernicus Center on 5216 W. Lawrence Ave.
9 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Saturday, September 14 at Roberto Clemente High School on 1147 N. Western Ave.
6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 19 at Southeast United Methodist Youth and Community Center (The Zone) at 11731 S Ave.
6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday, September 25 at Lindblom Math and Science Academy, 6130 S. Wolcott Ave.

Chicago Experiences a Significant Increase in Pedestrian Deaths Since July 1st

August 9, 2019 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

With this summer’s introduction of e-scooters to the streets of Chicago, much of our coverage and interest has revolved around how the City plans to not only curb traffic incidents arising from scooter users’ inability to follow the makeshift laws that have been established throughout the Summer, but the overall affects such riders have on pedestrians, bicyclists, and cars that are navigating the streets alongside them. Thrown to the wayside among this news cycle has been the fact that Chicago has actually experienced a large increase in the number of pedestrian deaths since the beginning of July. As previously reported by Streets Blog Chicago, the Chicago Department of Transportation had acknowledged that pedestrian deaths as of June 2019 had actually seen a 40% decrease year over year. Unfortunately, July proved to be much more dangerous for pedestrians in the city.

According to Block Club Chicago, “between Jan. 1 and July 31, 23 pedestrians were killed in the city. Six of those deaths occurred in July, the deadliest month for Chicago pedestrians since April 2018, when eight pedestrians were killed.” Making these numbers even more problematic is the fact that many safety experts throughout the community believe the issue to be a growing number of vehicles on the road. Unfortunately, the Department of Transportation has also found that one-third of the 23 pedestrian deaths in 2019 occurred in a marked crosswalk. As we have seen time and again, distracted driving remains a likely factor in these types of deaths. And why is that? For starters, our lives revolve around technology that we believe to be easily accessible at any moment. As we are walking down the street, we can video call our friends and family members and simultaneously multitask with the abundant number of apps we have on our phones. It is pretty easy to understand how we become so desensitized to taking our eyes off the road and letting our surroundings take a backseat to what we are really focused on. But that’s not an excuse and it should remain that way as the technology we use in our everyday lives becomes more advanced.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has an entire section on their website pertaining to this topic and we certainly recommend that all drivers become familiar with it. For instance, they state that “sending or reading a text takes your eyes off the road for 5 seconds. At 55 mph, that’s like driving the length of an entire football field with your eyes closed.” In addition, distracted driving, such as texting, has truly proved to be incredibly dangerous with 3,166 people being killed in motor vehicle crashes in 2017. All this goes to say that it just really is not worth it, and the ramifications of such driving pose far greater risks than missing a text or call from someone.

Drivers Are Not the Only Issue

While it may be easy to point fingers at the driver in situations such as these, the reality is that pedestrians may be just as negligent as the drivers themselves. As one-third of the 23 pedestrian deaths in Chicago have taken place in marked crosswalks, it is very likely that several of those instances included a pedestrian who was walking across a crosswalk while looking down at their phone or with it up to their ear. The issue with our lives revolving around these devices is not that they take our attention away from just the road, but our surroundings entirely. As we have previously written, many states have started invoking laws that ban cell phone use in crosswalks. The danger such actions pose is far too high and unnecessary just as they are for drivers. With that being said, the issue may be two-fold; however, we all know that individuals in marked crosswalks have the right of way and we should not be experiencing this issue in 2019. As a society, we have had years to adjust and understand the ramifications of these devices. It’s upon us now to make certain that drivers understand their actions and pedestrians do all they can to be safe. As Chicago has clearly had a far better year than previously regarding deaths, all it takes is a bad day and series of unfortunate circumstances for these accidents to take place. Unfortunately, whenever we see such accidents occurring where they shouldn’t, it makes the alarm bells sound and we must acknowledge that something is wrong. As Chicago becomes more populated and the number of drivers on the road increases, it will become more dangerous, but it really does not have to be that way. Distracted driving does not have to be a thing because we control these devices. We should be doing everything we can to curb it.

Who Pays When a Scooter Hits a Pedestrian?

July 22, 2019 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Have you ever read your entire auto insurance policy? It’s become a joke in the digital age that people click “Agree” whenever they encounter “Terms of Service” online without ever reading a word of what they just signed off on. This could be because these policies are written in such a way that they are difficult to understand. They are also, admittedly, pretty boring. Insurance declaration pages are no different. These documents are sometimes many pages long and can require some background knowledge to fully understand.

Insurance policies are contracts between the person buying insurance and the company providing coverage. The consumer pays a premium and the insurance company agrees to pay a claim incase an incident occurs, such as a car crash or house fire. Even with highly trained, experienced lawyers drafting these agreements, disputes can arise about what the words in an insurance policy really mean. A somewhat famous contract dispute case in Canada in the mid-2000’s resulted in a phone company losing a million dollars over a misplaced comma.

So, when non-lawyers enter into a contract to buy insurance from one of the multi-million dollar insurance companies that advertise all over the media with their amusing animal mascots and memorable jingles, there’s a good probability that they don’t read what they are signing, or they aren’t sure what some of it means.

The new motorized scooter companies popping up all over major cities throughout the U.S. in the last few years are taking a different approach altogether. They really aren’t providing any insurance coverage at all. Therefore, if a person rents a scooter and hits a pedestrian, they may not be covered.

A person injured by a negligent scooter rider will inevitably have medical bills they need to pay. If that person has health insurance, depending on the nuances of the coverage, and the deductible amount, hopefully the net, out-of-pocket cost of treatment will be relatively small compared to the total amount of the bills. That doesn’t account for potential lost wages, pain and suffering, disability, or loss of normal life.

When you rent a car, you might be covered by your own insurance policy if you opt-out of the one provided by the rental company. If you’re hit by a car as a pedestrian because the driver was negligent, for people who purchase car insurance in Illinois, you can turn to the un-insured motorist coverage of your auto policy to recoup your damages if the driver was uninsured. Since scooter renters generally aren’t getting the option to buy coverage to take advantage of this new transportation fad, if they happen to hit a pedestrian or cause damage to a car, they’ll most likely have to pay the damages out of pocket. If they don’t have the money or assets to do so, they may be able to discharge their obligation to pay if they file for bankruptcy, leaving the victim to eat the cost of a harm they did not cause themselves.

The solution, of course, is for the scooter companies to provide insurance for their riders. Like the terms of service in the rental agreement itself, people may not read those policies. However, if something happens, victims of crashes won’t be left to pay their own bills. If the companies don’t decide, out of the kindness of their hearts, to voluntarily provide insurance coverage, legislators, either on a local municipal level, or in state capitals, should require them to do so.

As technology changes and new ways to get around start popping up, we have to make sure that lawmakers and the insurance industry fill gaps where we may not have anticipated them before. If this delays progress, so be it. Transportation should be reasonably regulated and as cost efficiently as possible to increase safety and to make sure there is a way to compensate people who are hurt if someone is negligent in operating a vehicle no matter how big or small it is.

Chicago is Already Experiencing Issues with E-Scooters

July 1, 2019 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Within its first week as part of a 4-month long pilot program, Chicagoans took over 60,000 rides on the city’s new e-scooters throughout various neighborhoods of city. Since its unveiling, there has already been a large number of complaints regarding the scooters. The city’s Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP) alone has received 45 complaints since the program first began. With that being said, it’s not as if the complaints aren’t valid. Many in Chicago are seeing scooters piled up on sidewalks, forcing pedestrians to weave throughout foot traffic. In a city of three million people, issues such as these, which may seem small at the moment, exacerbate the problem. Based on the Chicago Department of Transportation’s “E-Scooter Do’s & Don’ts,” riders are instructed to “park scooters with care.” Unfortunately, with no clear oversight due to such a high volume of pedestrian, bike, and auto traffic already in the fold, scooters may just be too difficult to track and regulate.

As the media has been reporting throughout the United States regarding cities entering pilot programs, it has become clear Chicago is not alone. Unfortunately, some of the cities that have been experiencing major issues, accidents, and even fatalities, have far stricter rules than Chicago. The only mandate in Chicago is placed on the time of day a person may ride the scooters and specific areas where riding is banned. However, if you do decide to take the plunge and try out Chicago’s new e-scooter program, be smart about it and possibly take some training courses. Lime, one of the e-scooter providers for Chicago’s pilot program, is offering “First Ride Academy” courses, which aim to provide first-time riders with scooter safety information and tips on how to park scooters responsibly throughout the city. Details on the courses can be found below:

Location: West Palmer Square Chicago, IL 60647

Dates: Every Saturday, June 29 – July 27

Tickets: Click here

A growing trend

As overall interest in scooters has grown, there has clearly been a rise in the number of accidents and injuries, as expected. However, after seeing such a high number of fatalities increase as a result of these scooters, cities must ask if it is worth the risk. As reported at the beginning of June, “there are no comprehensive statistics available but a rough count by the Associated Press of media reports turned up at least 11 electric scooter rider deaths in the U.S. since the beginning of 2018. Nine were on rented scooters and two on ones the victim owned.” The issue with the scooters is not that they are available for residents to use, it’s the fact that they are not heavily regulated, and they are not essential for transportation needs. Cities like Chicago already have established public transportation and bike systems to allow for individuals to safely navigate the city. These pilot programs force cities to integrate an entirely new mode of transportation on a mass scale into an already developed daily practice of commuting for millions of people.

Injuries are frequent

Although it appears the fatalities and injuries sustained from these recent accidents are outliers, new reports are showing scooter injuries to be much more prevalent than we thought. Earlier this month, U.S. News reported a new study conducted by the American Journal of Otolaryngology finding an increase of head injuries from riding electric scooters across the United States. According to U.S. News, “between 2008 and 2017, nearly 32,000 injuries were estimated nationwide, according to a review of records in the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s National Electronic Injury Surveillance system. Accidents tripled from about 2,300 in 2008 to nearly 7,000 in 2017.” Not surprisingly, the most common injuries were concussions and brain bruising; however, this was largely due to the fact that 66% of the people injured failed to wear a helmet. What this information is telling us is that if cities fail to mandate certain safety equipment for riding scooters, the riders will not bother to wear helmets. Unfortunately, the injuries from these scooter crashes can be far more devastating. Though scooter riders in Chicago are limited to the bicycle lane, they can reach speeds of 15mph. Not requiring individuals to wear helmets under those circumstances is a risky proposition. That said, even if states or cities don’t require the use of safety equipment, we should all be doing ourselves a favor by putting a helmet on if we decide to join the scooter frenzy that’s now upon us.