Due to the proliferation of electronic scooters in the past year, there has been an increase of accidents and even several deaths in the San Diego area. In April 2019, The Mission Beach Town council released a referendum on scooter recommendations to the city of San Diego, and organized a protest in the Mission Beach area. They contacted San Diego Sports Medicine and Family Health Center for comments on the scooter situation and requested that doctors make an appearance at the protest.
San Diego Sports Medicine and Family Health Center physicians Dr. Alexandra Myers and her colleague Dr. Elizabeth Williams were then asked to speak during the protest and report on their observations of scooter related injuries.
On ABC 10 News in San Diego they provided comments and statistics:
“We see concussions, cuts, broken bones, and recently a severe neck injury. Someone almost lost their vision in their eye,”
Sports Medicine Physician, Dr. Alexandra Myers said.
“UCLA published a study over a year, and they’ve noticed over 250 injuries. 40% are causing head injuries. 5% have elevated levels of alcohol in their blood. And 98% of people are not wearing helmets,”
Dr. Elizabeth Williams said.
Watch the news cast on ABC 10 News
Ironically minutes after the rally the news reported on a Teen injured in e-scooter accident hours after e-scooter protest
“Safety not scooters!” San Diego locals gather in Mission Beach to protest the amount of electric scooters on the boardwalk. Many of those I have talked to say they feel unsafe walking on the boardwalk out of fear of the scooters. @CBS8 pic.twitter.com/AkHtMtIPsc
— Tim Blodgett (@TCBlodgettKFMB) April 20, 2019