October 24, 2000

1 min read

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Unsafe Scooters

By Kate Wong

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Even if you don't get out much, chances are you've seen the latest transportation trend: those ubiquitous silver scooters made by companies like Razor. In fact, you may well have had the hair-raising experience of seeing a child--or a middle-aged man--barreling toward you on one, only narrowly avoiding collision moments later. Still, it might come as a surprise to learn just how dangerous these little foot-operated vehicles can be, especially if proper precautions are not taken. According to Tara Dortch of the University of Alabama's Think First Injury Prevention Program, scooter-related emergency room visits have increased by 700 percent since spring. "The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission says that there have been more than 4,000 scooter-related injuries in August alone," she observes. "Riders need to protect themselves with the same gear worn by in-line skaters: a helmet that covers the brain stem, and knee and elbow pads." Dortch also notes that kids should "stay out of the street" and not ride at night.

Kate Wong is an award-winning science writer and senior editor for features at Scientific American, where she has focused on evolution, ecology, anthropology, archaeology, paleontology and animal behavior. She is fascinated by human origins, which she has covered for nearly 30 years. Recently she has become obsessed with birds. Her reporting has taken her to caves in France and Croatia that Neandertals once called home to the shores of Kenya’s Lake Turkana in search of the oldest stone tools in the world, as well as to Madagascar on an expedition to unearth ancient mammals and dinosaurs, the icy waters of Antarctica, where humpback whales feast on krill, and a “Big Day” race around the state of Connecticut to find as many bird species as possible in 24 hours. Wong is co-author, with Donald Johanson, of Lucy’s Legacy: The Quest for Human Origins. She holds a bachelor of science degree in biological anthropology and zoology from the University of Michigan. Follow her on Bluesky @katewong.bsky.social

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