The year 2008 saw a significant increase in the sales of scooters worldwide, mostly driven by a major increase in gasoline prices, according to a CNN Money report on Sept. 23, 2008. For many drivers, particularly younger ones, the cost of operating a car became too expensive. The increase in scooters resulted in an increase in scooter-related accidents.
The number of motorcycles in the United States is about 6 million, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. No governmental agency is counting the number of scooters, however. Of the motorcycles, between 3,500 and 4,500 riders are killed annually in the United States.
Scooters pose as a death risk are just as dangerous as motorcycles and far more dangerous than driving a car. All things being equal in speed, elements and conditions, scooter drivers have a chance of getting killed more than 35 times higher than that of a car driver, according to NHSTA Traffic Safety Facts 2007. In fact, because of technological changes required by the government and the need to stress safety in sales, vehicle injuries and deaths are decreasing statistically. Unfortunately, according to the Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), motorcycle and scooter deaths are going in the opposite direction.
Scooters are attractive because they offer significant mobility in urban areas. They are also reasonably cheap to operate. They are hardy machines and typically go a number of years before needing repairs. And repairs themselves are minor in cost compared with the same kind of repair on a car. So for a budget-minded rider a scooter makes sense.
The cost of injury is often overlooked in the price of a scooter. In a sudden stop or side impact, scooter drivers are fully exposed to contact. The first expense tends to be contact-type bodily injury, which tends to be the highest for those who don’t wear armor and a helmet when riding. Cement, objects and other cars can do significant damage to a body at speeds of 20 mph or more. Most scooters can reach 45 mph.
Car accidents can and do result in significant injuries but at a much lower rate than scooter accidents. Most car accident victims suffer bruises and maybe whiplash, but most walk away from their accidents. A typical scooter injury can cost between $7,000 to $31,000 just for the immediate hospital care. Wearing a helmet can reduce costs to between $3,000 and $18,000. The significant difference is a full-face helmet with a face cover versus half-shells and other smaller variations that are open face in design. Open-face helmets generally result in significant face damage requiring jaw repair, nose repair, replacement of lost teeth and cosmetic surgery.
