E-Scooter Accidents
Common Causes of E-Scooter Accidents
Road hazards, sidewalk riding, and impaired riding — a guide from Koenigsberg & Associates Law Offices.
June 22, 2026
Each year, dozens of people are injured or even sent to the hospital due to accidents involving e-scooters. As these devices become more popular and appear on more streets across NYC, it's important that every rider identify the common causes of e-scooter accidents so they can avoid dangerous situations and reduce the risk of being in a crash.
Most e-scooter crashes trace back to a small set of recurring causes: road hazards, riding on the sidewalk, and riding under the influence. Each one is preventable — and understanding how they happen is the first step to staying safe.
By the Numbers
How common are e-scooter crashes?
1 in 5
Scooter-related injuries occur while riding in the bike lane
3 in 5
Injured e-scooter riders were riding on the sidewalk when they crashed
48%
Of injured e-scooter riders tested were above the legal alcohol limit
Dozens
Of New Yorkers are hospitalized each year in e-scooter crashes
E-scooter injuries have climbed sharply as the devices have spread across NYC. The good news: most causes are predictable — and avoidable with the right habits.
Cause #1
Road hazards
About 1-in-5 scooter-related injuries occur when riders are in the bike lane. Two hazards stick out above the rest: dooring and potholes. Dooring is bad enough for bicycle riders, but it's worse for e-scooter riders — they're often moving faster, and many don't wear helmets. Potholes are an even bigger problem: while large bicycle and car wheels can roll through them, an e-scooter's small wheels can lose control on even a minor pothole. That has led some riders onto the sidewalk, which poses even greater risks.
Potholes & uneven pavement
Potholes are everywhere in NYC. Small e-scooter wheels are far more sensitive than bicycle or car tires — even a minor hole can throw a rider off balance and cause a serious crash.
Dooring
When a parked driver swings open a door into the bike lane, e-scooter riders take a harder hit than cyclists. They tend to move faster and rarely wear helmets, so the consequences are more severe.
Debris & utility covers
Loose gravel, broken glass, and slick metal grates and manhole covers can cause an e-scooter's small wheels to slip without warning.
Construction & detours
Temporary lane shifts, unmarked drop-offs, and sudden surface changes catch riders by surprise — especially after dark.
Cause #2
Riding on the sidewalk
Nearly 3-in-5 injured e-scooter riders were on the sidewalk when they crashed. Sidewalks are especially dangerous in areas with heavy foot traffic — and that's most of NYC. E-scooters are heavier than bikes and move faster, so riders who illegally use the sidewalk end up swerving around pedestrians and putting everyone at risk.
Heavier and faster than bikes
E-scooters weigh more than bicycles and travel at higher speeds, so collisions on crowded sidewalks hit harder than many riders expect.
Pedestrian collisions
Weaving through foot traffic — especially in busy commercial corridors — leads to direct strikes on people who have no time to react.
Static objects
Sign posts, fire hydrants, planters, trash cans, and bus shelters become hazards when a rider tries to dodge a pedestrian at speed.
Uneven pavement
Cracked or lifted concrete is even more disruptive to a small scooter wheel than potholes in the road.
Why riders take the sidewalk anyway
Many regular e-scooter users don't feel safe sharing the street with cars.
That fear is understandable — but the data is clear. More than half of crashes happen on sidewalks, driven by uneven pavement, collisions with static objects, and collisions with pedestrians. The bike lane, when available, is almost always the safer choice.
Cause #3
Riding under the influence
Driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol is, by far, the top contributing factor to e-scooter-related crashes. One analysis found that 48% of injured e-scooter riders tested for alcohol were above the legal limit.
Riding an e-scooter while impaired could be just as dangerous as driving a car drunk — sometimes more. Cars have seatbelts and airbags; e-scooters have effectively no safety features and require sharper balance and reflexes to operate.
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E-scooters have no seatbelts, airbags, or crumple zones — riders absorb the full force of any crash.
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Balancing and steering a scooter takes more coordination than driving a car, and alcohol erodes both quickly.
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DUI is the single largest contributing factor in e-scooter crashes worldwide.
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If you're too impaired to ride a bike, you're too impaired for an e-scooter — call a cab instead.
Stay Safe
How to avoid the most common e-scooter crashes
A handful of simple habits dramatically lower your risk of a serious crash — and most of them cost nothing.
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Wear a helmet
Helmets dramatically reduce the risk of serious head and brain injury. They're cheap, easy to carry, and the single best investment a rider can make.
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Stay out of the sidewalk
Riding on the sidewalk is illegal in most of NYC and accounts for the majority of e-scooter rider injuries. Use the bike lane or street whenever possible.
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Watch for parked cars
Ride a full door's width away from parked vehicles. Scan for brake lights, occupied driver seats, and any sign that a door is about to open.
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Slow down for hazards
Reduce your speed before crossing potholes, manhole covers, painted lines in the rain, and unfamiliar terrain.
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Never ride impaired
Alcohol and drugs slow your reaction time, hurt your balance, and turn a routine ride into a hospital visit. Take a taxi or rideshare instead.
Hurt in an e-scooter crash?
You need representation from a team you can trust.
If you'd like an experienced New York City injury accident attorney from Koenigsberg & Associates Law Offices to evaluate your case, don't hesitate to call us at (718) 336-2000.