Cole Stotlar knows all too well the dangers of electric scooters. Stotlar, a freshman studying business, said he has many stories of crashing on Lime scooters around campus.
“Any time I use a Lime, I almost die,” Stotlar said, laughing.
In particular, Stotlar recounts one memorable day last semester.
On the way from Greek Row to a USC football game, he said he hit a “beamer.”
“I ran through a bunch of red lights, and a car literally came out of nowhere. I ran right into the car, and flipped over the car,” Stotlar said.”I literally flew over the hood.”
Remembering this experience, Stotlar acknowledged the popular motorized scooters are not safe, but he still rides them around the USC area.
“But I don’t care,” he said.
According to Dr. Sarah Van Orman, the chief campus health officer at the University of Southern California, electric scooters are the third most common cause of injury on campus, and the second most common cause of head injury she sees in her office.
According to data from USC Student Health, motor scooters contributed to 10.5% of injuries reported to the university, while regular scooters contributed to 1.2%. Motor scooters also contributed to 14.5% of head injuries, 14.9% of arm and hand injuries and 13.5% of leg injuries.
She recommends that electric scooter drivers slow down their speed, especially when they’re in congested areas, riding on a sidewalk or crossing roads.
She also stressed the importance of wearing helmets.
“It’s actually a really concerning issue for students,” Van Orman said. “Our brains don’t heal as well from falls as our arms and legs do.”
Students said they know they should be wearing helmets, but it doesn’t seem like they care.
“I’ve never [fallen] on my head before, so I’m not wearing a helmet on campus,” said Caleb Ouanounou, a sophomore studying business.
He started using his electric scooter last year after a knee injury but continues to use it because it’s more convenient and saves time.
Ouanounou said he has gotten in his fair share of minor accidents around campus.
“I fell on it a few times because people don’t pay attention to me,” he said. “And I crash into them accidentally.”
Regardless, he said he thinks it’s “embarrassing” to wear a helmet on campus, adding that he is “cautious enough.”
Freshman James Kyles, who is studying AI for business, said he never sees people wearing helmets on campus.
“You don’t want to look like a nerd when you have it on,” Kyles said. “So I’m not pro-helmet.”
Kyles thinks the scooter problem on campus is “a skill issue,” saying users should be competent while riding them.
“Not everybody needs a scooter,” Kyles added.
Nino Muratori, a bike rider, said he often sees students on scooters driving fast through campus. But Muratori doesn’t wear a helmet either.
“I’m rarely going at high speeds, so I’m pretty confident in my ability to recover if I do fall off.” Muratori said.
While most students said they haven’t crashed, many said they have come close.
Catherine Peets, a freshman studying business administration, said she has almost been hit by scooter riders “about a million times.”
She said she often sees athletes that “speed too fast” and “frat bros” who she said use electric scooters “because they’re too lazy to walk from campus to the house.”
Armand Foroughi, a sophomore studying international business, said he has a scooter but rarely uses it.
“I think you should pass a scooter driving test before you’re allowed to drive on campus,” Foroughi said. “There are some people that don’t deserve that privilege.”
He adds that driving a scooter isn’t only dangerous for the person riding it — but also for pedestrians passing by.
“I’ve actually almost been hit by a few people, but I jumped out of the way,” Foroughi said. “It was really embarrassing for the other person…It was kind of cool for me because I evaded it.”