Bird Scooter Accident Lawyer
Bird Scooter Accident Lawyer
Bird Scooter Accident Lawyer in Atlanta, GA
Renting out bikes and scooters as a method of convenient transportation has become more and more common nowadays. It’s most likely you have spotted different electronic scooters parked around your area for convenient transportation use, with the company, Bird, most likely providing these rentals. With new innovations such as Bird, there will be concerns for safety and liability issues that precede them.
Bird Scooters Coming to Your City?
Headquartered in Venice, California, Bird began as a company with the intention to ease environmental and transportation concerns that come with the use of excessive car trips and lack of convenient transportation accessibility. The goal of Bird scooters is to improve transportation, reduce road congestion, and greenhouse gas emissions by providing electronic scooters to the public with easy accessibility. The company is and continues to be in the process of working with different cities across the United States to expand its concept to reach a wider audience.
How to Find Them
Bird scooters are usually scattered around the city and parked by bike racks in any area that doesn’t block public pathways. Dependent on the city, the Bird scooters can also be parked in front of different buildings/stores/restaurants as long as they don’t pose a nuisance to the building.
At the end of the day, Bird employees begin tracking down the scooters in order to collect, charge, and store them overnight beginning around 8 PM, and then they are returned to their locations at 7 AM the next day for public usage.
How They Work
In order to have access to the Bird scooters, one must download the BIRD app in order to rent and pay for transportation. The qualified rider must sign up, pay an out-of-system fee, and pay a $1 unlock fee. Each ride costs $1 in order to start each BIRD ride, and then, the individual is charged 15 cents per minute during the entire duration of the ride.
Directions & Tips for Usage:
- Find a Bird near you and tap the button to unlock
- Start the Bird by pushing the BIRD 2-3 times using one’s foot to get it going. Once in motion, press the throttle button with the right thumb
- Place both feet on footboard once in motion
- Brakes: Squeeze the brake with left hand to slow down
- Ending your ride: locking the Bird within the app
BIRD SCOOTER SAFETY
The company has emplaced rules to ensure safety for users and bystanders…
- Must be 18 years and older to rent the Bird
- Only one rider is permitted per Bird
- Required by Law to wear a helmet (active riders can request a free helmet from the safety section of the mobile app)
- Drivers license is required to ride
- All local traffic rules including stop signs must be followed
- Vehicles are throttled to 15 miles per hour for people’s safety
- Bird scooters must ride in bike lanes, and not on the sidewalks
- Bird scooters must avoid the restricted motorized vehicle areas as shown on the app
However, even with rules in place, people still tend to neglect some of these rules, increasing the likelihood of injuries and accidents. Even with restricted areas in place, people still continue to use the Bird scooters on walking trails, restricted parks, and most commonly, on sidewalks. People are concerned with riding along side cars due to traffic, therefore they opt to use the scooters on sidewalks instead.
Accidents & Concerns
Safety is a large priority to the cities that acquire Bird scooters as concerns of accidents and liability issues come into play. Bird scooters accidents can become fatal as the Bird scooter are less visible on the roads, and they pose a weak protective barrier between the rider and the pedestrians, cars, and objects that are around them.
Injuries from Bird scooters can result from a multitude of reasons such as
- Neglectful helmet usage
- Ignoring restricted scooter areas
- Rider negligence
- Vehicle malfunction
- Encountering road hazards
A big problem seen among Bird scooter accidents is the difficulty of sharing the roads. There have been multiple reports of
- Hit-and-run accidents of cars hitting scooter riders
- Bird scooters swerving from cars
- Motorcyclist and cars swerving in order to avoid collision with riders, resulting in accidents
- Pedestrians being hit by Bird riders
- Pedestrians being injured from attempting to avoid collision with a rider
In situations such as these, questions of liability and compensations can become complicated, especially because there isn’t a structured policy around Bird scooter accidents and injuries. There has been a lot of conversation on how to approach the potential problems that may arise with the increased use of electronic scooter rentals. However, because nothing is set in stone, it’s important to be aware of the new innovation and how it may affect you or your loved ones. Sessions & Fleischman is here to represent you and help guide you through the process of your case.
Why it is critical to document a Bird, Uber or other Scooter accident immediately after a wreck?
In recent years, we’ve seen a huge increase in the number of bicyclists, scooter riders, other types of rideshare transportation pop up all over Atlanta. As more people use these alternative methods of transportation, we are seeing that Atlanta and other metropolitan areas are not suited for the operation of these vehicles.
In Atlanta, for example, there are different types of scooters, electric bicycles and regular bicycles located throughout the city. However, these urban areas are not bike or scooter friendly. In fact, operating these rideshare vehicles on our congested roads can be difficult – and dangerous.
If you are injured in an accident involving a scooter or bicycle, you should speak with a lawyer as soon as possible so that they can begin investigating your accident. In personal injury cases, timing is critical to a client’s success – especially in cases involving bikes and scooters.
Once a claim is filed, the insurance company on the other side will begin looking for facts to diminish the value of your claim, or find ways to put the blame on you for the accident. And unlike a car accident, there may be little physical evidence from the vehicles to prove what actually occurred. Your personal injury lawyer should investigate the damage to the car that caused the accident, as well as damage to the scooter or bike, and document it to support your claim for compensation.
If you have been injured on a Lyft, Uber or Bird scooter, or an electric bike, call Sessions & Fleischman for a free consultation with an Atlanta rideshare accident lawyer.