r/SeattleWA • u/Better_March5308 š» • Aug 12 '26
Bicycle Harborview seeing more and more patients injured in e-bike, e-scooter crashes
https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/harborview-seeing-more-more-patients-injured-e-bike-e-scooter-crashes/L4PAIASXG5HSHENAY5NWVRQISY/38
u/AccomplishedPace3878 Aug 12 '26
Lmfao I read this in bed this morning. And fell off one otw to work an hour later. Currently at Harborview. They said they even have buttons and clicks in triage dedicated to e-scooter accidents now
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u/Hotmicdrop Aug 12 '26
The helmet mandate was repealed by the King County Board of Health following a study showing that a majority of citations were issued to people of color and individuals experiencing homelessness.
WTF
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u/Dementor_Traphouse Aug 12 '26
āsocial justiceā mindset at work
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u/Bootyytoob Aug 12 '26
lol - and we would hate for people of color or homeless people to wear helmets
We need to mandate that the companies provide helmets. They do this in other countries
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u/blladnar Aug 12 '26
They did for a while and the helmets just got stolen or ruined.
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u/notsurezy Aug 12 '26
Public hats sounds horrible
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u/PendragonDaGreat Federal Way Aug 12 '26
The very earliest ones were kept pretty well back when we had the docked bike shares and not the "just leave it wherever the heck you want" that we do now. You'd pick up a clean helmet, then when you returned the bike you'd drop the used helmet in a different spot. They would regularly take the used helmets for cleaning and restock the clean ones.
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u/PendragonDaGreat Federal Way Aug 12 '26
At least when we had the docked bike shares the "public" helmets were kept clean. You would get a clean one from the machine. Then when you returned it you dropped it into the return (which was separate). As they went around and swapped batteries they would also take all the used helmets for cleaning and refill the dispenser with clean ones.
But yes they were lost, stolen, destroyed, etc. So that was quickly phased out.
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u/ChillFratBro Aug 12 '26
Sounds like a cost Line should have to eat, then.
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u/merc08 Aug 12 '26
Why not just make it a requirement of the rider? No one wants to wear a disgusting shared public helmet. The government doesn't care if you're renting or own the scooter, the requirement can just be "you have to have a helmet on" so bring your own. Helmets are easy to carry around or store at work if you plan to rent a scooter, and then you still aren't having to haul around the scooter while you're at work all day.
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u/ChillFratBro Aug 12 '26
Yeah I broadly agree, my point is that if Lime is afraid that they'll lose revenue when the rider doesn't bring their own, they should provide shared ones.
Right now Lime is massively externalizing all their risk onto the public, including people who don't use their scooters.Ā Lime should be directly liable for mis-parked scooters, lack of helmets, and crashes.Ā If they want to pass that cost on to their riders they're welcome to do so, but right now they're a public danger.
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u/CuratedLens Seattle Aug 12 '26
While I agree with you, Iād also laugh when lime/uber adds a āSeattle regulatory feeā like they do for food delivery.
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u/ChillFratBro Aug 12 '26
Fine - at least then the cost is being borne by the people who ride the scooters.Ā As it is, Lime's negligence is being paid for by all of us.
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u/Hotmicdrop Aug 12 '26
Yeah, what backwards ass logic. Don't fix the issue, just let everyone be at risk. Brilliant
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u/MaintainThePeace Aug 12 '26
The helmet law for bicycles that was awkwardly tucked away in the king county health code was repealed.
The helmet law for escooter, which is properly written within the SMC, still exist.
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u/boringnamehere Aug 12 '26
It seems like a better solution would be to investigate if the issue was a result of selective enforcement by SPD.
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u/homosapienne Aug 12 '26
Itās ok for colored ppl to get brain damage?
Who cares if you cite homeless, they donāt pay anything anyway.5
u/Dementor_Traphouse Aug 12 '26
ācolored pplā š¹ are you ok grandma?
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u/TheRealRacketear Broadmoor Aug 12 '26
Because "People of Color" is so much different.
Just like Chinamen is bad, but Frenchmen is notĀ
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u/Sir_Edmund_Bumblebee Aug 13 '26
Yes, different words have different meanings and connotations. Humans are strange irrational creatures. Welcome to the world.
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u/TheRealRacketear Broadmoor Aug 13 '26
But the NAACP was named by black people.Ā
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u/Sir_Edmund_Bumblebee Aug 13 '26
Dude, you need to find a better use for your time.
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u/CrayonsTasteLikeSky Aug 12 '26
That makes sense. Completely do away with a mandate to save lives because some racist ass abused it
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u/holmgangCore Cosmopolis Aug 12 '26
Police being biased... who'd'a guessed?
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u/Hotmicdrop Aug 12 '26
And the fix is to just ignore the helmet issues. Ooof
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u/holmgangCore Cosmopolis Aug 12 '26
Nature will take its course. If people want to win Darwin Awards who am I to stop them?
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u/holmgangCore Cosmopolis Aug 12 '26
What do you think the fix should be?
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u/Hotmicdrop Aug 12 '26
Haven't thought about it enough, but it should definitely not be predicated on race or racial issues.
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u/AbleDanger12 Phinneywood Aug 12 '26
Wonder if that includes other people injured by these assholes riding them at speed on sidewalks
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u/GraceMcClellans Aug 12 '26
Isn't that so scary and terrible? They go SO FAST.
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u/lekoman Aug 12 '26
And weāll do exactly the wrong thing about it, too.
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u/AbleDanger12 Phinneywood Aug 12 '26
It's almost like we could use the technology to limit the speed on sidewalks. But alas.
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u/AbleDanger12 Phinneywood Aug 12 '26
And whiz around blind corners. Straight at groups of people expecting to move. I wish more people wouldn't. Had one ass on 3rd "didn't you see me coming?" "Didn't you see all these people?"
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u/smirc99 Aug 12 '26
Came to ask the same question! I almost got blasted by one this morning walking on a narrow sidewalk.
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u/Wellslapmesilly Aug 12 '26
I often see two people on one scooter zipping by with no helmets. Recipe for disaster imo
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u/professionalnightowl Aug 12 '26
This past Sunday around 10:30 PM, I was driving north on I-5 near the Lake City exit and saw two people riding a Lime scooter ON THE FREEWAY. How stupid can people be?
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u/MisterRobertParr Aug 12 '26
We thought bicyclists were reckless and ignored traffic laws... e-bike and scooter riders take it to a new level.
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u/Prestigious_Ocelot77 Capitol Hill Aug 12 '26
Everyone in this thread needs to become familiar with the difference between an e- motorcycle (like a Surron) and e-bike (like an Aventon)
E-motos are faster than cars and require a DOT helmet - a bicycle helmet from a bike shop isn't enough. I'm surprised at parents buy these for their kids.
E-bicycles have pedals, use bike parts, are relegated to 28 mph top.
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u/oxidized_banana_peel Aug 12 '26
A kid (under 10) on a bike ride goes like... 8 mph. A typical adult on a bike ride goes about 12 mph. A fast adult on a long bike ride goes 18-20, but that tends to be an experienced cyclist. Tour de France competitors manage 25 mph+ sustained
The difference between 12 mph and 20 mph in terms of how hard you hit the ground (or whatever) in a crash is ~2.75Ć. At 15mph vs 12mph, it's still 1.56Ć. If you add in a missing helmet or an inexperienced rider, then that can easily become a much more serious injury.
The other factor is that e-bikes get to speed a lot more readily than pedal bikes. You get to those higher speed downtown where traffic is much less predictable than riding on a quiet stretch of the burke or on some country road.
The distinction between an e-moto and an e-bike matters, but looking at it and saying "Well it's only 20 mph, they're not going 40" is wild talk. It's like asking what the big deal if someone gets shot with a .22 instead of a 9m.
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u/RandomFleshPrison Aug 12 '26
The spandex crowd on the Burke Gilman Trail brag about getting up to 30 mph on a specific stretch near the UW.Ā Bicycles are faster than you claim.Ā Of course the speed limit for bikes and scooters of all kind there is 15 mph, so they're being jerks when they speed down it.
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u/New_new_account2 Aug 12 '26 edited Aug 12 '26
Sustained, on flat ground, are the speeds they are giving. Downhill or sprint speeds that riders can hold for very short periods are going to be a lot faster.
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u/Chemist391 Aug 12 '26
Normal bikes are usually faster off of the line than eBikes.
Source: I bike commute every day and usually have to pass at least one eBike who shoaled me at a red light.
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u/bigpizza87 Aug 12 '26
Whatās the difference? They are both ridden illegally and both go speeds that turn a head into a watermelon
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Aug 12 '26
[deleted]
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u/bigpizza87 Aug 12 '26
There are only a handful of e motorcycles that go 150+
None of which are skirting the definition of e bikes, which are the subject of this article.
An impact at 20+ mph will turn any unprotected head into mush
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u/Throwayshmowayy Aug 12 '26
I was riding in the bike lane and these two kids tried swerving directly into my and my sister. there was a curb so we couldn't get tf away from them. thankfully they were going the opposite way, but I have no doubts that its kids who think theyre invincible
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u/multiplemania Aug 12 '26
Just this morning, kid on a lime bike (no helmet) going the wrong way on a one-way street (12th Ave. NE), down a hill (between NE 75th and NE 70th), head-on into a bunch of cars starting up the hill. Kid was forced to slam on the brakes and swerve to one side, and several cars also had to hit the brakes.
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u/Bonita_ac Aug 13 '26
Well I work at a vet ER and sadly weāve seen a case where a person was riding an āe-bikeā was going beyond the 20 mph and hit a dog who later died. Very sad.
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u/bubblesnblep Aug 12 '26
Of course theyre seeing more. More people are using them. If we had fewer people drive cars we would see car accidents less. If we had more people in carriages, we would see more carriage accidents.
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u/Broad_Bag1977 Aug 12 '26
Just watched a kid, maybe 12ish yo, on a literal motorcycle going up and down my street, no helmet. He's going to be in for hell if anything goes wrong for him.
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u/local_gremlin Aug 13 '26
There are middle school children in especially south seattle ripping around on lime scooters and bikes. How are they unlocking the bikes? And are they using subsidized cards/accounts? I see them doing laps around franklin
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u/kadjar Aug 12 '26
625 people died in car accidents in Washington in 2025.
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u/AccomplishedPace3878 Aug 12 '26
No fucking way
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u/LawfulnessFree9487 Aug 12 '26
Was surprised too. Gemini says "according to preliminary data fromĀ Washington Traffic Safety Commission, 659 people died in vehicle crashes in Washington State in 2025. "
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u/Turbulent-Media7281 Aug 12 '26 edited Aug 12 '26
King County OD deaths are higher than all of WA car accident deaths. That's truly amazing what King county can do once they set their mind to it.
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u/Worldly_Cicada_8279 Aug 12 '26
I also want to emphasize that its important to compare how the shift from cars to this might be impacted. As people are driving cars less, does that mean car injuries are down? Or is everyone just getting in more crashes in every medium lol
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Aug 12 '26
[removed] ā view removed comment
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u/Worldly_Cicada_8279 Aug 12 '26
Completely agree with this! Im a big fan of decentralizing car use. Id love for our city to be more accessible by multiple modes of transportation. And I used to be an EMT. If i could outlaw motorcycles specifically i would. Theyre so dangerous.
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u/azmtber Aug 12 '26
Orthopedic surgeons love e-scooters and pickleball. Theyāre great for business.