safety

There have been at least 21 injury crashes, or about one case per 5,714 trips, a similar rate as in Austin, Texas.

Will the scooters be an asset to Chicago's sustainable transportation network, or will they introduce a new set of dangers and annoyances to urban life? Only time will tell.

About ten years ago, the Active Transportation Alliance launched its Crash Support Helpline to provide support and resources to people who have just experienced a crash on foot or by bike. According to deputy director Melody Geraci, it was established in response to a steady flow of calls to the office from people who had been in pedestrian or bike crashes and didn't know what to do.

The murder of Marlen Ochoa-Lopez, and other recent missing-person cases, have made women walking and riding transit in lower-income communities of color feel less safe.

At last week's Mayor's Pedestrian Advisory Council meeting, city officials discussed other details of the upcoming scooter pilot.

While some kinds of lawbreaking on two wheels are truly inexcusable, most should be addressed with better infrastructure rather than enforcement, and some shouldn't be illegal at all.

The city wants to learn about Chicagoans' driving behavior and attitudes to help inform crash-prevention programs.

The advocacy group plans to reach out to trucking companies to ask them to encourage their drivers to take the test.

The reason? Canada has better laws and far more mass transit use.