The truth is, kick scooters aren’t just a pastime for teenagers anymore. Nowadays, electric scooters are widely used by adults and professionals who want an easy and fun way to get around town. A lot of commuters use e-scooters in more cities than ever before. There are wide-scale networks of e-scooters in a lot of large cities across the globe.
That being said, despite them offering a good amount of fun and convenience, there is still some safety concern. While it’s true that a lot of scooters are built and designed to maximize safety, there is always a risk of getting hurt on one. That being said, a lot of this risk is due to the rider not using it as it should be.
No matter if you are looking to ride an e scooter that you’ve bought personally, if you are looking to use a ride-share one, you’ll want to follow the most important safety tips to avoid getting hurt while riding.
1. Check Your Scooter Before You Hop On
This is important when you are riding your scooter regularly. You should be doing a 360-degree inspection of your scooter every time you step on it. This will ensure that you can spot certain things that could make the scooter dangerous to use. Here is a quick list that you’ll want to look out for when you are doing your inspection.
– Check that the brake, lights, and accelerator are all working
– Ensure your tires are all inflated and that they have good pressure
– ensure your stem latch is properly secured
– Check to ensure all of your ports are closed
– Look to ensure your battery has sufficient charge before leaving
You’ll want to inspect your scooter weekly. This is especially true if you are someone who uses it every day. While you’ll find electric scooters don’t typically require daily maintenance or repair, you do want to keep a good eye on it to keep it functioning properly and to keep it in the best possible shape.
2. Always Wear a Helmet
You want to ensure that you are wearing a helmet at all times. Think about how you travel with your scooter. A lot of riders avoid wearing a helmet because they don’t want to look ‘goofy.’ Unfortunately, only 4.8 percent of injured electric scooter riders wore helmets. In most countries, it’s mandatory to wear one. If you aren’t entirely sure what kind of helmet you should be wearing, here is a guide that you can use to figure out what kind of helmet you should be buying.
Aside from getting yourself a helmet, there are some other gears that you could equip yourself with when you are looking to ride safely. You can consider wearing elbow pads, gloves, and knee pads to protect all of your body parts if you fall off your scooter or CycleBoard. Also, you could consider placing reflectors on your scooter which can help you boost the level of visibility when you are riding in low light conditions. That being said, you don’t necessarily need to wear extra gear. A helmet is mandatory, but the other gear is purely optional for added protection.
3. Riding In The Right Position
One of the things that you should be doing to ensure you are riding safely is to ride in the right position. This is something that can improve your riding conditions. Riding in the wrong position and with poor posture is going to make it increasingly difficult to balance. This can increase your risk of falling. You can avoid this by standing on your electric scooter the right way. Here are some of the quick reminders you should keep in mind:
– To begin, you’ll want to place your non-dominant leg on the deck and push yourself with your dominant leg
– As soon as you begin moving, move your dominant leg behind your weak leg to balance yourself
– Always have both hands on your handle. One hand should be controlling the accelerator and the other should be on the brake
– Keep your back completely straight for better balance
4. Follow The Traffic Laws
You need to be fully aware of the traffic laws in the area you are riding your scooter. For instance, not all electric scooters in Ireland are legally able to be used in public. As of this particular writing, e-scooters are forbidden in public spaces in Ireland. However, you can use any ride-share scooters that have been city-approved.
Also, you need to factor in the maximum speed limit on most scooters which is 24kph.. That being said, you want to abide by all of your local traffic laws and figure out whether or not they are any different before stepping foot on a scooter.
5. Don’t Travel In Bad Conditions
While there are a lot of brands that are creating scooters that are meant for off-roading and traveling in bad conditions, you’ll want to try to avoid doing so whenever possible. You don’t want to push the physical limits of your scooter because it’s not necessarily meant for use in poor road conditions. Likewise, most e-scooters aren’t made for off-roading. Therefore, it could put you at risk of getting injured or even ruining your scooter.
6. Carry Spare Batteries
If you have an electric scooter that has a swappable battery, you’ll want to bring spares with you everywhere you go. This can be a very useful thing to keep you from having your battery die on you while you’re out and about. Typically, you won’t have too much bulk because these batteries don’t usually weigh too much or take up too much space. Having extra batteries will make your electric scooter a lot more useful to you and keep you from getting frustrated with poor battery life.