E-scooters love-hate relationship
2018 was without a doubt the year of the electric scooter.
Bird started this trend. It was a unicorn among unicorns, being the first company to reach a $1 billion evaluation in a year.
It took off because they're a sustainable and cheap way for people to get around town faster. They're as convenient and fun as they are annoying and dangerous.
Some people even destroy them.
I used e-scooters a few times when I was running late for class in college. It seemed a little dangerous but that's part of the fun.
That following year on campus, I saw someone run into an automatic car barrier gate on an e-scooter and was flown from it. Aside from scraping up his hands and arm, he was fine. So was the scooter.
There are a lot of horror stories and lawsuits over them.
Despite all this, the e-scooter industry keeps growing. Maybe there are opportunities to make them safer with low-profile helmets, haptic feedback in the handles or something else to keep riders safe and aware of surroundings.