Make Electric Scooters Safer: Prevent Serious Injuries Like My Fractured Wrist
The Issue
Protect Riders Without Restricting Freedom: Improve Electric Scooter Safety Nationwide
Petition to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the Missouri Senate Transportation, Infrastructure and Public Safety Committee, the Missouri House Transportation Committee, and Electric Scooter Manufacturers
Electric scooters have become a popular, affordable, and convenient form of transportation across the United States. Millions of Americans use them for commuting, recreation, and everyday travel.
However, as electric scooter use has grown, so have reports of serious injuries, emergency room visits, and fatalities. Improving safety awareness, consumer information, and injury prevention efforts can help protect riders while preserving the freedom and convenience that electric scooters provide.
According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), approximately 133,000 emergency department visits involving micromobility products occurred between 2017 and 2019, including a significant increase in injuries involving electric scooters. During that period, emergency department visits involving e-scooters increased from approximately 7,700 in 2017 to 27,700 in 2019.
The CPSC has reported that fractures, head injuries, and injuries to the upper and lower extremities are among the most common scooter-related injuries. Falls, loss of control, collisions with motor vehicles, and pavement hazards are among the leading causes of these incidents.
Research conducted by public health and safety organizations has found that road hazards, rider inexperience, limited use of protective equipment, poor visibility, and loss of control are common contributing factors in scooter-related injuries. These findings highlight the importance of rider education, consumer awareness, injury prevention efforts, and continued research into electric scooter safety.
What We Mean by Electric Scooters
For the purposes of this petition, “electric scooters” refers to stand-up electric scooters designed for personal transportation.
This petition does not address electric bicycles (e-bikes), electric motorcycles (e-motos), mobility devices, or other forms of micromobility. Different vehicle types have different capabilities, safety considerations, and intended uses, and may require different safety approaches.
My Personal Experience
I know this issue firsthand.
Safer scooters and better-informed riders can coexist with personal responsibility and transportation freedom.
What seemed like a routine ride ended with a fractured scaphoid bone in my wrist—an injury that required months of recovery and significantly affected my ability to work, drive, exercise, and perform everyday activities.
My experience opened my eyes to the importance of rider awareness, protective equipment, consumer information, and practical safety measures that can help reduce serious injuries.
What This Petition Is Not
This petition is not:
• A proposal to ban electric scooters.
• An attempt to remove personal responsibility from riders.
• An effort to restrict responsible adults from choosing how they travel.
• A call for excessive government control or unnecessary regulation.
Riders are responsible for operating scooters safely, following applicable laws, remaining aware of their surroundings, and using appropriate protective equipment.
This petition supports education, awareness, consumer information, injury prevention, and reasonable safety improvements that help riders make informed decisions while preserving personal freedom and consumer choice.
We Call for Action
We respectfully urge government agencies, lawmakers, manufacturers, retailers, researchers, and public safety organizations to:
• Encourage the development of reasonable and consistent safety standards for braking performance, lighting, visibility, durability, stability, and product labeling for electric scooters sold in the United States.
• Improve braking systems, lighting, visibility, durability, and overall vehicle stability where appropriate.
• Require clear safety warnings, instructional materials, and risk-awareness information at the point of sale.
• Support independent research and data collection regarding scooter-related injuries, fatalities, and contributing factors.
• Publish and maintain publicly accessible injury and fatality data so consumers, researchers, manufacturers, healthcare professionals, and policymakers can make informed decisions based on evidence.
• Develop safety guidance, consumer information, and educational resources tailored to different categories and speeds of electric scooters.
• Support efforts to improve consumer information and safety guidance for different types and speeds of electric scooters, including consideration of classification models that help riders make informed decisions about scooter capabilities, safety practices, and appropriate use.
• Support public education campaigns regarding helmet use, wrist guards, gloves, visibility, road hazards, safe speeds, braking techniques, defensive riding practices, and other injury-prevention measures.
• Support educational efforts that help both scooter riders and motorists safely share roads, intersections, trails, and other transportation facilities.
• Increase public awareness regarding common causes of scooter-related injuries and how those risks can be reduced.
• Encourage local governments and transportation agencies to identify and address infrastructure hazards that contribute to rider injuries, including potholes, uneven pavement, poor lighting, roadway obstacles, unsafe crossings, and gaps in bicycle and micromobility facilities where appropriate.
Missouri-Specific Request
Because this petition originated in Missouri, we respectfully encourage the Missouri Senate Transportation, Infrastructure and Public Safety Committee and the Missouri House Transportation Committee to review electric scooter injury data and hear testimony from riders, healthcare professionals, safety experts, manufacturers, transportation stakeholders, transportation advocacy organizations, micromobility users, and public health professionals.
We encourage consideration of practical measures that improve rider awareness and safety while preserving personal freedom and consumer choice.
Potential topics for review include:
• Rider safety education initiatives.
• Helmet, wrist-guard, and protective-equipment awareness campaigns.
• Clear scooter warning labels and consumer safety information.
• Injury and fatality data collection and reporting.
• Reasonable safety guidance for high-speed electric scooters.
These measures can help reduce serious injuries while preserving personal responsibility and freedom of choice.
Promote Protective Equipment and Rider Education
We encourage manufacturers, retailers, and public safety organizations to:
• Promote the use of helmets, wrist guards, gloves, reflective gear, and other protective equipment.
• Clearly communicate the benefits of protective equipment during the purchasing process.
• Offer consumers convenient access to certified protective equipment through optional safety bundles and discounts.
• Support educational campaigns focused on braking techniques, visibility, road hazards, night riding, safe speeds, and defensive riding practices.
• Partner with schools, community organizations, healthcare providers, and transportation agencies to expand rider safety education.
We also support education for motorists and scooter riders on safely sharing roads, understanding right-of-way, and reducing conflicts between vehicles and vulnerable road users.
Personal Responsibility, Education, and Safety Can Work Together
Personal responsibility, rider education, and product safety can work together to reduce injuries without restricting individual freedom.
Just as seatbelts, airbags, bicycle safety standards, warning labels, and public education campaigns help reduce injuries without eliminating personal responsibility, reasonable safety measures for electric scooters can help riders make informed decisions and reduce preventable harm.
No form of transportation is completely risk-free. However, better education, stronger consumer awareness, improved safety information, continued research, and practical safety initiatives can help reduce the likelihood and severity of serious injuries.
Why Your Signature Matters
Whether you ride an electric scooter every day, know someone who has been injured, work in healthcare, support consumer safety, or simply believe people deserve access to accurate information about the products they use, your signature can help encourage meaningful discussions about rider safety and injury prevention.
By signing this petition, you support a balanced approach that promotes rider safety, informed consumer choice, personal responsibility, and transportation freedom.
This petition is not about banning electric scooters. It is about ensuring that riders, families, policymakers, manufacturers, and communities have access to the information, education, and research needed to reduce serious injuries and improve public safety.
Together, we can support informed consumer choice, strengthen rider education, improve safety awareness, encourage safer infrastructure, and reduce preventable injuries while preserving the freedom and convenience that make electric scooters valuable to so many Americans.
Research and Data Sources
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) — Micromobility Products-Related Deaths, Injuries, and Hazard Patterns (2017–2024)
https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/Micromobility_Products-Related_Deaths_Injuries_and_Hazard_Patterns_2017-2024.pdf
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) — E-Scooter-Related Injuries Are on the Rise: CPSC Releases New Study and Public Service Announcement
https://www.cpsc.gov/Newsroom/News-Releases/2020/E-Scooter-Related-Injuries-Are-on-the-Rise-CPSC-Releases-New-Study-and-Public-Service-Announcement
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) — Dockless Electric Scooter-Related Injury Study
https://archive.cdc.gov/www_cdc_gov/eis/conference/dpk/Dockless_Electric_Scooter_Related_Injury.html
162
The Issue
Protect Riders Without Restricting Freedom: Improve Electric Scooter Safety Nationwide
Petition to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the Missouri Senate Transportation, Infrastructure and Public Safety Committee, the Missouri House Transportation Committee, and Electric Scooter Manufacturers
Electric scooters have become a popular, affordable, and convenient form of transportation across the United States. Millions of Americans use them for commuting, recreation, and everyday travel.
However, as electric scooter use has grown, so have reports of serious injuries, emergency room visits, and fatalities. Improving safety awareness, consumer information, and injury prevention efforts can help protect riders while preserving the freedom and convenience that electric scooters provide.
According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), approximately 133,000 emergency department visits involving micromobility products occurred between 2017 and 2019, including a significant increase in injuries involving electric scooters. During that period, emergency department visits involving e-scooters increased from approximately 7,700 in 2017 to 27,700 in 2019.
The CPSC has reported that fractures, head injuries, and injuries to the upper and lower extremities are among the most common scooter-related injuries. Falls, loss of control, collisions with motor vehicles, and pavement hazards are among the leading causes of these incidents.
Research conducted by public health and safety organizations has found that road hazards, rider inexperience, limited use of protective equipment, poor visibility, and loss of control are common contributing factors in scooter-related injuries. These findings highlight the importance of rider education, consumer awareness, injury prevention efforts, and continued research into electric scooter safety.
What We Mean by Electric Scooters
For the purposes of this petition, “electric scooters” refers to stand-up electric scooters designed for personal transportation.
This petition does not address electric bicycles (e-bikes), electric motorcycles (e-motos), mobility devices, or other forms of micromobility. Different vehicle types have different capabilities, safety considerations, and intended uses, and may require different safety approaches.
My Personal Experience
I know this issue firsthand.
Safer scooters and better-informed riders can coexist with personal responsibility and transportation freedom.
What seemed like a routine ride ended with a fractured scaphoid bone in my wrist—an injury that required months of recovery and significantly affected my ability to work, drive, exercise, and perform everyday activities.
My experience opened my eyes to the importance of rider awareness, protective equipment, consumer information, and practical safety measures that can help reduce serious injuries.
What This Petition Is Not
This petition is not:
• A proposal to ban electric scooters.
• An attempt to remove personal responsibility from riders.
• An effort to restrict responsible adults from choosing how they travel.
• A call for excessive government control or unnecessary regulation.
Riders are responsible for operating scooters safely, following applicable laws, remaining aware of their surroundings, and using appropriate protective equipment.
This petition supports education, awareness, consumer information, injury prevention, and reasonable safety improvements that help riders make informed decisions while preserving personal freedom and consumer choice.
We Call for Action
We respectfully urge government agencies, lawmakers, manufacturers, retailers, researchers, and public safety organizations to:
• Encourage the development of reasonable and consistent safety standards for braking performance, lighting, visibility, durability, stability, and product labeling for electric scooters sold in the United States.
• Improve braking systems, lighting, visibility, durability, and overall vehicle stability where appropriate.
• Require clear safety warnings, instructional materials, and risk-awareness information at the point of sale.
• Support independent research and data collection regarding scooter-related injuries, fatalities, and contributing factors.
• Publish and maintain publicly accessible injury and fatality data so consumers, researchers, manufacturers, healthcare professionals, and policymakers can make informed decisions based on evidence.
• Develop safety guidance, consumer information, and educational resources tailored to different categories and speeds of electric scooters.
• Support efforts to improve consumer information and safety guidance for different types and speeds of electric scooters, including consideration of classification models that help riders make informed decisions about scooter capabilities, safety practices, and appropriate use.
• Support public education campaigns regarding helmet use, wrist guards, gloves, visibility, road hazards, safe speeds, braking techniques, defensive riding practices, and other injury-prevention measures.
• Support educational efforts that help both scooter riders and motorists safely share roads, intersections, trails, and other transportation facilities.
• Increase public awareness regarding common causes of scooter-related injuries and how those risks can be reduced.
• Encourage local governments and transportation agencies to identify and address infrastructure hazards that contribute to rider injuries, including potholes, uneven pavement, poor lighting, roadway obstacles, unsafe crossings, and gaps in bicycle and micromobility facilities where appropriate.
Missouri-Specific Request
Because this petition originated in Missouri, we respectfully encourage the Missouri Senate Transportation, Infrastructure and Public Safety Committee and the Missouri House Transportation Committee to review electric scooter injury data and hear testimony from riders, healthcare professionals, safety experts, manufacturers, transportation stakeholders, transportation advocacy organizations, micromobility users, and public health professionals.
We encourage consideration of practical measures that improve rider awareness and safety while preserving personal freedom and consumer choice.
Potential topics for review include:
• Rider safety education initiatives.
• Helmet, wrist-guard, and protective-equipment awareness campaigns.
• Clear scooter warning labels and consumer safety information.
• Injury and fatality data collection and reporting.
• Reasonable safety guidance for high-speed electric scooters.
These measures can help reduce serious injuries while preserving personal responsibility and freedom of choice.
Promote Protective Equipment and Rider Education
We encourage manufacturers, retailers, and public safety organizations to:
• Promote the use of helmets, wrist guards, gloves, reflective gear, and other protective equipment.
• Clearly communicate the benefits of protective equipment during the purchasing process.
• Offer consumers convenient access to certified protective equipment through optional safety bundles and discounts.
• Support educational campaigns focused on braking techniques, visibility, road hazards, night riding, safe speeds, and defensive riding practices.
• Partner with schools, community organizations, healthcare providers, and transportation agencies to expand rider safety education.
We also support education for motorists and scooter riders on safely sharing roads, understanding right-of-way, and reducing conflicts between vehicles and vulnerable road users.
Personal Responsibility, Education, and Safety Can Work Together
Personal responsibility, rider education, and product safety can work together to reduce injuries without restricting individual freedom.
Just as seatbelts, airbags, bicycle safety standards, warning labels, and public education campaigns help reduce injuries without eliminating personal responsibility, reasonable safety measures for electric scooters can help riders make informed decisions and reduce preventable harm.
No form of transportation is completely risk-free. However, better education, stronger consumer awareness, improved safety information, continued research, and practical safety initiatives can help reduce the likelihood and severity of serious injuries.
Why Your Signature Matters
Whether you ride an electric scooter every day, know someone who has been injured, work in healthcare, support consumer safety, or simply believe people deserve access to accurate information about the products they use, your signature can help encourage meaningful discussions about rider safety and injury prevention.
By signing this petition, you support a balanced approach that promotes rider safety, informed consumer choice, personal responsibility, and transportation freedom.
This petition is not about banning electric scooters. It is about ensuring that riders, families, policymakers, manufacturers, and communities have access to the information, education, and research needed to reduce serious injuries and improve public safety.
Together, we can support informed consumer choice, strengthen rider education, improve safety awareness, encourage safer infrastructure, and reduce preventable injuries while preserving the freedom and convenience that make electric scooters valuable to so many Americans.
Research and Data Sources
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) — Micromobility Products-Related Deaths, Injuries, and Hazard Patterns (2017–2024)
https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/Micromobility_Products-Related_Deaths_Injuries_and_Hazard_Patterns_2017-2024.pdf
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) — E-Scooter-Related Injuries Are on the Rise: CPSC Releases New Study and Public Service Announcement
https://www.cpsc.gov/Newsroom/News-Releases/2020/E-Scooter-Related-Injuries-Are-on-the-Rise-CPSC-Releases-New-Study-and-Public-Service-Announcement
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) — Dockless Electric Scooter-Related Injury Study
https://archive.cdc.gov/www_cdc_gov/eis/conference/dpk/Dockless_Electric_Scooter_Related_Injury.html
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Petition created on July 19, 2026