CHARLOTTE, N.C. — In Kristin Moening's attempt to make her travel from point A to point B a bit easier, she turned toward an e-scooter.
“The funny thing is I’m not good on land," Moening said.
She thought it was a good idea but it turned out not as expected.
“I was trying to cross the street, and a car that was making a turn and he wasn’t paying attention," Moening said. "I had to swerve into oncoming traffic not knowing if cars were there, then I steered in the other direction. I hit the curb but pressed the break and gas at the same time... I went right over the handlebars, and I landed on my shoulder elbow and wrist."
She looked back on that day laughing, even wearing the green sweater with shoulder pads that saved her from getting seriously injured, but she knows it could be much worse.
“I could have smashed my face into something," Moening said.
A new report from the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission showed from 2021 to 2022, there was a 22% increase in injuries associated with these kinds of scooters.
Charlotte City Council considered safety concerns when these scooters were launched in Charlotte. Council member Ed Driggs was a part of that conversation.
"We decided on balance because this is a popular transportation, gets people out of their cars," Driggs said.
After they had been on the streets for more than a year, the Charlotte City Council voted to cap the speed on scooters to 15 miles per hour. It also has worked to improve bike lanes for these riders. But sometimes, unexpected events happen.
"There was a tragic accident in May," Driggs said.
A 16-year-old was riding a scooter in Uptown Charlotte and was hit and killed by a car near Truist Field.
“That’s why the data is so important, because it indicates a larger scale problem about safety, and might be something we need to think about," Driggs said.
Moening is left with a memory of that day and a green sweater to prove it. She is also warning others, if you choose to use a scooter to get from point A to point B -- stay vigilant.