San Diego

Collision Between Bird Scooter Rider, Car Rehashes Regulation Talk

A man riding a rideshare scooter suffered major injuries when he was hit by a car in University Heights Monday night.

San Diego police say the man was riding eastbound on Washington Street when he was hit by a Toyota Prius exiting northbound State Route 163.

SDPD said it was unclear if the scooter rider, 41, was wearing a helmet, but said he was cited for DUI and is at fault for the collision.

There has been a growing number of citations issued by SDPD to people riding motorized scooters illegally.

Since mid-February, when the scooters were first introduced, there have been at least 550 citations issued. According to District 2 Councilmember Lorie Zapf’s office, 275 citations were issued over the Memorial Day Weekend when the SDPD Beach Team was activated.

According to a public records request by NBC 7, most of the citations have been issued in the beach area. The majority of the citations have been for people riding the scooters without a helmet.

But citations have also been issued for people riding illegally on sidewalks, and to riders under 16 years old. Some have been cited for having an additional passenger on the scooters.

“I believe we’re going to be seeing a lot more accidents because we don’t have any policy in place right now,” Councilmember Zapf said.

In May, Zapf’s efforts to introduce an emergency ordinance to ban motorized scooters from beach boardwalks was voted down by the City Council. She is continuing her efforts to regulate the scooters, though, and is hoping a council committee will revisit the topic at a meeting in July.

“We need regulations on this because this is a new thing and it’s the Wild West out there,” said Zapf.

Contact Us