E-Scooter Injury Attorney in New York City

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People in dense cities like New York need transportation options beyond driving a car. Unfortunately, the subway can’t get you everywhere you need to go. Increasingly, electric scooters are a popular option for people making short trips. All too often, though, e-scooter riders find themselves at the mercy of dangerous drivers and poorly maintained roads.

If you’ve been hurt in an accident, contact the New York e-scooter injury lawyers at Finz & Finz, P.C. A former New York State Supreme Court Justice founded our firm. Our team has decades of experience in personal injury accident cases. Our seasoned attorneys have collected over $1 billion in compensation for our clients.

Call (855) TOP-FIRM or contact us online for a free and confidential initial consultation with a knowledgeable e-scooter injury attorney.

New York City E-Scooter Laws

As popular as e-scooters have become in cities worldwide, e-scooters and e-bikes were banned in New York City until November 2020. That’s when the New York City Council passed a law allowing residents to operate personally owned throttle-based e-scooters up to 15 miles per hour in bike lanes and streets with 30 miles per hour or fewer speed limits. In addition, unlike seated mopeds, e-scooters do not require a driver’s license or registration with the NYS DMV, but scooter operators under 18 must wear a helmet.

The support for e-scooters continued. In April 2021, the NYC Department of Transportation announced that commercial dockless e-scooters would be introduced in a one-year pilot program in the Bronx to determine appropriate regulations for general citywide commercial e-scooter use.

The three companies allowed to offer e-scooter rides in the Bronx are Bird, Lime, and VeoRide. If the pilot program goes well, these three companies can expand their operations to neighborhoods throughout the city, with up to 2,000 scooters allowed per company.

There are a few other important provisions of New York’s e-scooter pilot program:

  • First, all three companies are barred from using “gig labor” (independent contractors who are not full-time employees) to charge and rebalance the e-scooters after a ride.
  • Second, e-scooter companies are prohibited from using terms of service, including binding arbitration or forbidding class-action lawsuits. This provision is essential because it protects e-scooter accident victims’ rights to file a personal injury claim or lawsuit when injured in an e-scooter accident.
  • Finally, in addition to the speed limit and helmet laws, other safety requirements are associated with the legalization of e-scooters in NYC. E-scooter riders must:
    • Yield to pedestrians
    • Not wear more than one earphone while riding.
    • Stay off the sidewalk.
    • Ride in the direction of traffic.
    • Stop at all red lights.
    • Stop at all stop signs.
    • Use a white headlight and red tail light at night.