City Government

With Increasing Head Injuries, Will Cities Do Something About E-Scooters?

Published

7 years ago

May 10, 2019

Almost half of the injured scooter riders in Austin, Texas, identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in its first-ever study of dockless electric scooters suffered a head injury, with 15 percent experiencing a traumatic brain injury.

The report, presented last week both in Austin and Atlanta, where the CDC is headquartered, covers 87 days last fall in Austin when almost 200 people were injured in scooter crashes.

Just one of the riders wore a helmet, and 33 percent of those riders were hurt on their first scooter ride.

Austin city officials requested the CDC’s help in tracking injuries last spring as e-scooters started taking over the city. The investigators identified 271 individuals with potential e-scooter-related injury incidents during the study period last fall; of those, 190 confirmed an e-scooter riding-related injury.

Most accidents occurred on streets. Most riders were men. Among the injured, 48% suffered a fracture, laceration or abrasion to the head; 70% injured upper limbs; and 55% injured lower limbs. Of the 190 riders, 35% suffered some type of fracture.

Despite injuries, 38% indicated they will use a scooter again.

“These injuries may have been preventable,” the study concludes. “Studies have shown that bicycle riders reduce the risk of head and brain injuries by wearing a helmet. Helmet use might also reduce the risk of head and brain injuries in the event of an e-scooter crash.”

With the increasing availability of scooters as an urban transit alternative, Austin and other cities around the world are trying to balance the safety and needs of scooter riders and the motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians who must navigate around them on sidewalks and streets.

Some localities ban the scooters outright, while others try to control the number permitted or specify boundaries for use or places to park them. Dockless scooters arrived in Austin last April and quickly went from zero to more than 15,000 permitted as 10 companies were licensed to operate, according to the city’s dockless mobility website.

Although all those scooters aren’t out at once, the two companies with the most devices in Austin — Bird and Lime — each boast on their websites about availability in more than 100 cities around the globe. As those numbers continue to multiply, the CDC’s report will help shape how cities approach transportation policies, regulation and public safety.

Paul Saffo, who has spent more than 20 years exploring large-scale, long-term change, teaches forecasting at Stanford University. He said cities also need to consider a fundamental question about private use of public property.

“Scooters are lying around on sidewalks and being used by a private company making profit off use of the public infrastructure. The question is: Is the public being fairly compensated for the private use by a for-profit of a public infrastructure?” he said. “Whose right of way is it? The pedestrian annoyed by scooter is presumably a taxpayer. Who gets the privileged use of a public infrastructure?”

The CDC epidemiologists, collaborating with Austin Public Health and the city’s Transportation Department, arrived in Austin last December to examine scooter-related injuries from September to November, including interviewing the injured and studying their medical records to determine road conditions, weather, helmet use and other behaviors, such as alcohol use while riding.

Among the findings, 55 percent of the injured riders identified as male. The median age was 29, although riders ranged in age from 9 to 79. Most injuries (55 percent) occurred in the street, while 33 percent were injured on the sidewalk.

The study also notes that findings don’t support the perception that scooter injuries are due to collisions with vehicles. But speed is a factor, the study suggests.

“While more than half of the interviewed riders were injured while riding a scooter in the street, just 10 percent of riders sustained injuries by colliding with a motor vehicle,” the study found. However, 37 percent of injured riders reported that excessive e-scooter speed contributed to their injury. And 29 percent of riders had consumed alcohol within the 12 hours preceding the scooter ride.

“Overall, 63 percent of the injured riders had ridden an e-scooter nine times or fewer before injury,” the study said.

“This study is a critical first step in cities adopting clear standards for safety that all operators must adhere to,” said Paul Steely White, Bird’s director of safety policy and advocacy. “There’s actionable information here for riders, operators and cities alike.” Bird, based in Santa Monica, Calif., turns its scooters off between midnight and 5 a.m. and limits the top speed to 15 mph.

Injuries, which are being recorded at hospitals and emergency rooms across the country, have resulted in fewer than a dozen fatalities nationwide — including one in Austin earlier this year.

Two scooter riders died in March in California and two others were killed last month after being hit by cars in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Hollywood, Calif.

Sharon Jayson, Kaiser Health News

Posts by Sharon Jayson, Kaiser Health News

Activism

Post Newspaper Invites NNPA to Join Nationwide Probate Reform Initiative

The Post’s Probate Reform Group meets the first Thursday of every month via Zoom and invites the public to attend. The Post is making the initiative national and will submit information from its monthly meeting to the NNPA to educate, advocate, and inform its readers.

Published

1 day ago

February 10, 2026

Oakland Post

iStock.

By Tanya Dennis

The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) represents the Black press with over 200 newspapers nationwide.

Last night the Post announced that it is actively recruiting the Black press to inform the public that there is a probate “five-alarm fire” occurring in Black communities and invited every Black newspaper starting from the Birmingham Times in Alabama to the Milwaukee Times Weekly in Wisconsin, to join the Post in our “Year of Action” for probate reform.

Reporter Tanya Dennis says, “The adage that ‘When America catches a cold, Black folks catch the flu” is too true in practice; that’s why we’re engaging the Black Press to not only warn, but educate the Black community regarding the criminal actions we see in probate court: Thousands are losing generational wealth to strangers. It’s a travesty that happens daily.”

Venus Gist, a co-host of the reform group, states, “ Unfortunately, people are their own worst enemy when it comes to speaking with loved ones regarding their demise. It’s an uncomfortable subject that most avoid, but they do so at their peril. The courts rely on dissention between family members, so I encourage not only a will and trust [be created] but also videotape the reading of your documents so you can show you’re of sound mind.”

In better times, drafting a will was enough; then a trust was an added requirement to ‘iron-clad’ documents and to assure easy transference of wealth.

No longer.

As the courts became underfunded in the last 20 years, predatory behavior emerged to the extent that criminality is now occurring at alarming rates with no oversight, with courts isolating the conserved, and, I’ve heard, many times killing conservatees for profit. Plundering the assets of estates until beneficiaries are penniless is also common.”

Post Newspaper Publisher Paul Cobb says, “The simple solution is to avoid probate at all costs. If beneficiaries can’t agree, hire a private mediator and attorney to work things out. The moment you walk into court, you are vulnerable to the whims of the court. Your will and trust mean nothing.”

Zakiya Jendayi, a co-host of the Probate Reform Group and a victim herself, says, “In my case, the will and trust were clear that I am the beneficiary of the estate, but the opposing attorney said I used undue influence to make myself beneficiary. He said that without proof, and the judge upheld the attorney’s baseless assertion. In court, the will and trust is easily discounted.”

The Black press reaches out to 47 million Black Americans with one voice. The power of the press has never been so important as it is now in this national movement to save Black generational wealth from predatory attorneys, guardians and judges.

The next probate reform meeting is on March 5, from 7 – 9 p.m. PST. Zoom Details:
Meeting ID: 825 0367 1750
Passcode: 475480

All are welcome.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

Community Celebrates Turner Group Construction Company as Collins Drive Becomes Turner Group Drive

The event drew family, friends, and longtime supporters of Turner Group Construction, along with a host of dignitaries. The mood was joyful and warm, filled with hugs, handshakes and belated New Year’s greetings. Guests enjoyed hors d’oeuvres and a festive display of gourmet cupcakes as they conversed about the street sign reveal.

Published

1 day ago

February 10, 2026

Oakland Post

The Turner Construction group members.

By Carla Thomas

It was a family affair on Friday, Jan. 23, at the corner of Hegenberger Road and Collins Drive in East Oakland as community members, local leaders, and elected officials gathered to celebrate the renaming of Collins Drive to Turner Group Drive. The renaming saluted the Turner Group’s 45-plus years of economic development and community investment.

Special guests included former Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson, veteran broadcaster Valerie Coleman-Morris, Chevron Senior Public Affairs Representative Andrea Bailey, community leaders Cephus “Uncle Bobby” Johnson and Beatrice “Aunt Bea” Johnson of the Oscar Grant Foundation, and Oakland City Councilmembers Ken Houston, Carroll Fife, and Kevin Jenkins. Members of WEBCORE, the Nor Cal Carpenters Union, the National Association of Minority Contractors (NAMC), Swinerton and Alten construction companies, activists Elaine Brown and David Newton, and many others joined the celebration.

Inside the event tent, an emotional Oakland City Councilmember Ken Houston spoke of his deep connection to the Turner family.

“I grew up on the same street with the Turners,” he said. “When my father passed away, their parents and siblings embraced me like family. This is our city, and it’s an honor to name this street Turner Group Drive because of the love and effort this company and family have given. Many dreams came out of this building. I wouldn’t be where I am today without the Turners.”

Councilmember Kevin Jenkins, whose father once taught the Turner brothers, added, “Len Turner is an amazing person. He’ll help anyone.”

Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee praised the company’s legacy, noting its creation of the Construction Resource Center, which trains and mentors the next generation of builders and developers through partnerships across the region. “This is a great day for Oakland and a profound acknowledgment of the Turner Group’s contribution to our community,” she said.

Fife echoed that sentiment: “This is a day for celebrating Black excellence. The Turner Group has poured into people and the community, showing us what’s possible.”

Among the many family members in attendance was the Turners’ 92-year-old patriarch, whose presence underscored the strength of the family’s legacy.

A touching highlight of the event came when Coleman-Morris was honored for her lasting mentorship of LaTanya Hawkins, now program manager of the Construction Resource Center. In 1979, Hawkins, then a fourth-grader, wrote Coleman-Morris a letter seeking advice. Coleman responded with words of encouragement that inspired Hawkins to pursue her dreams. The two stayed in touch for decades. On stage, they embraced as Coleman reflected on “the power of small acts of kindness to change a life.”

Coleman-Morris also shared reflections on leadership and community spirit, saying, “If we change the way we look at things, the things we see will change.” She then recited the Serenity Prayer, reminding the crowd, “We are a powerful community, we just need to believe it.”

Company leaders Len and Lance Turner closed the ceremony with words of gratitude and humor. Len thanked his mother, wife, family, legal team, and longtime supporters including Carson, Geoffrey Pete, and the late Dorothy King of Everett & Jones Barbecue. He also acknowledged the challenges the company had overcome, saying, “Without all of this support, I wouldn’t be here today.”

Through Turner Group Construction and the Construction Resource Center, the Turners have created new opportunities for underrepresented groups in the construction industry and continue to inspire the next generation of builders.