LanghamP Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 The other threads with OneWheels and high speed eScooters got me wondering what people thought about the relative safety of various devices. There's obviously several classes of each device but to keep it simple envision a fairly general device. The following is just my opinion and gut feeling; I don't have any figures. Most dangerous to least dangerous. Pogo stick Rollerblades Hoverboard Electric skateboard OneWheel EUC Electric kick scooter Kick scooter Skateboard Skiis Snowboard Office chair on wheels Two wheeled Segway Unicycle EBike Fat bike / beach cruiser. Pogo stick is ludicrously dangerous because it's always a 2G faceplant, that is, the Pogo stick slips and you get flung to the ground using your own downward momentum. The other extreme is no one has ever crashed their beach cruiser. I actually put the OW ahead of EUCs because of their low power, low speed, and fairly high QC. "Office chair on wheels" is an example of a personal device that people will push others on until there is a crash but no one ever gets hurt from that. The reason I put the hoverboard as very dangerous is that this ubiquitous device seems friendly enough that people try them then break multiple bones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
electricpen Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 I think this list is probably mostly correct but I disagree with the rollerblade placement. I think rollerblades should go somewhere after electric kick scooter and before skiis. They are stable at rest and quite slow so I think by default should be safer than all the electric stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LanghamP Posted January 14, 2019 Author Share Posted January 14, 2019 24 minutes ago, electricpen said: I think this list is probably mostly correct but I disagree with the rollerblade placement. I think rollerblades should go somewhere after electric kick scooter and before skiis. They are stable at rest and quite slow so I think by default should be safer than all the electric stuff. I initially had rollerblades much lower until I recalled the process of crashing. The damned rollerblades are bolted to your feet unlike every other vehicle on this list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biped Phil Posted January 16, 2019 Share Posted January 16, 2019 The greater public is most interested in safety or danger *for bystanders* and on that scale I would put electric unicycles safer than 2-wheeled non-self-balancing scooters. Three reasons: 1) The unicycle pilot is ahead of the wheel, unprotected. 2) Motion and control are one on the unicycle, there is no pedal or knob to screw up. 3) The unicyclist is in harmony with his surroundings, while the scooter rider is hanging onto a contraption flying across the pavement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darrell Wesh Posted January 16, 2019 Share Posted January 16, 2019 8 hours ago, Biped Phil said: The greater public is most interested in safety or danger *for bystanders* and on that scale This is correct. And using this scale the EUC poses the least danger of them all save for the few people who think you’re on some unstoppable rolling wheel of death with no ability to brake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nic Posted January 16, 2019 Share Posted January 16, 2019 On 1/14/2019 at 3:56 PM, LanghamP said: The other threads with OneWheels and high speed eScooters got me wondering what people thought about the relative safety of various devices. There's obviously several classes of each device but to keep it simple envision a fairly general device. The following is just my opinion and gut feeling; I don't have any figures. Most dangerous to least dangerous. Pogo stick Rollerblades Hoverboard Electric skateboard OneWheel EUC Electric kick scooter Kick scooter Skateboard Skiis Snowboard Office chair on wheels Two wheeled Segway Unicycle EBike Fat bike / beach cruiser. Pogo stick is ludicrously dangerous because it's always a 2G faceplant, that is, the Pogo stick slips and you get flung to the ground using your own downward momentum. The other extreme is no one has ever crashed their beach cruiser. I actually put the OW ahead of EUCs because of their low power, low speed, and fairly high QC. "Office chair on wheels" is an example of a personal device that people will push others on until there is a crash but no one ever gets hurt from that. The reason I put the hoverboard as very dangerous is that this ubiquitous device seems friendly enough that people try them then break multiple bones. What danger is it you are referring to? Is it danger to others or danger to the person riding the device? Also, you forgot about the person riding the device being the biggest danger factor ... they will be right at the top of the list as a danger to themselves and others! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Espen R Posted January 16, 2019 Share Posted January 16, 2019 7 minutes ago, Nic said: What danger is it you are referring to? Is it danger to others or danger to the person riding the device? Also, you forgot about the person riding the device being the biggest danger factor ... they will be right at the top of the list as a danger to themselves and others! Yes, my EUC offers no danger to anyone on it's own, but the minute I get on it, a well proven idiot, it becomes a recipe for disaster, which is true for every vehicle I operate. # I'm a human, and pure luck is the only reason I'm still alive after 46 years, so I'm pretty sure intelligence is not a human thing, at least not for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LanghamP Posted January 16, 2019 Author Share Posted January 16, 2019 48 minutes ago, Nic said: What danger is it you are referring to? Is it danger to others or danger to the person riding the device? I didn't consider the danger to bystanders to be anything other than minimal when composing this list, but if that was a consideration then I'd just sort them by "joules at top speed", with the assumption that more joules is a greater danger to bystanders. Or you could do the "if I was a terrorist in Paris, which of these vehicles would I choose that would cause the most deaths"? For that, I'd put the Dualtron and the eBikes at the top, with all others behind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biped Phil Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 10 hours ago, LanghamP said: Or you could do the "if I was a terrorist in Paris, which of these vehicles would I choose that would cause the most deaths"? For that, I'd put the Dualtron and the eBikes at the top, with all others behind. The evildoer would pore over scooter catalogs and finally decide against! But the great mass of careless scooter riders will rent the nearest Lime or Bird and without any malice collide with pedestrians. Power counts, but so does controllability. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxkan Posted January 18, 2019 Share Posted January 18, 2019 Why do you think One Wheel is more dangerous than EUC? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LanghamP Posted January 18, 2019 Author Share Posted January 18, 2019 3 hours ago, maxkan said: Why do you think One Wheel is more dangerous than EUC? Because they used to have a speed leaderboard, where people's speeds were automatically entered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neurokinetik Posted January 19, 2019 Share Posted January 19, 2019 On 1/14/2019 at 11:43 AM, electricpen said: I think this list is probably mostly correct but I disagree with the rollerblade placement. I think rollerblades should go somewhere after electric kick scooter and before skiis. They are stable at rest and quite slow so I think by default should be safer than all the electric stuff. Rollerblades aren't necessarily slow. When I was younger, in better shape (and using my skates more than regular shoes), I used to pass bikers very often. Only the Tour-DeFrance cosplayers would go faster. That was on much older skates, too, with 80mm wheels. Now, with wheels up to 125mm, you can go even faster with less effort. Certainly much faster than a conventional kick scooter or skateboard. It's probably even possible to keep up with a OneWheel, on today's skates, at least until your stamina gives out. Also, I once had a head-on collision with a biker (who was at fault as he was in the wrong lane going around the corner.) He came out worse than I did, and I was not wearing any protection at all in those days. So I don't think rollerblades are very unsafe at all. I'd also put electric skateboards as safer than EUCs or OneWheels, as a motor cutout isn't going to cause a faceplant. Just don't hit any rocks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerome Posted January 19, 2019 Share Posted January 19, 2019 ONEWHEEL and EUCs should be at the top of the list powered vehicles. A motor cut-off will cause a crash. For the rest it's a matter of conjecture unless you defined the terrain. rider skill, speed, weather conditions, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxkan Posted January 19, 2019 Share Posted January 19, 2019 On 1/18/2019 at 12:32 AM, LanghamP said: Because they used to have a speed leaderboard, where people's speeds were automatically entered. Well that's not a valid reason. I has nothing to do with device safety... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dingfelder Posted January 19, 2019 Share Posted January 19, 2019 1. If you put skateboards on there -- something with no motor or engine -- then regular bikes and regular unicycles should probably go on there too. You might as well have trikes, too, of which there are quite a few kinds. And recumbent bikes/trikes. 2. Re rollerblade safety, you can have some nasty crashes on them. I know I did. They are pretty big, and when they twist, they can very easily wrench your knees very, very hard. I'm great at rolling and was never able to roll out of a fall, either. 3. I think skateboard safety is under-rated, or rated too heavily according to its most extreme riding options. Skateboards can be ridden in a very tame way. Everybody I knew who rode one spent plenty of time on them just cruising around the neighborhood, and almost all the time doing nothing special, and doing it at a slow speed. Not that you can't get hurt on one at low speed (people die slipping in the shower, so ...), but ordinary skateboard riding is something that can be done pretty safely even very early into the learning curve. 4. What's that thing you ride on the street, lying down a couple of inches from the road surface? That thing has got to be way way up there. 5. Skiing might need to be up there a bit higher? I've read that spleen injuries are common among skiers, among other things. Also skateboarders, for that matter. Maybe snowboarders too? Plus the other kinds of injuries that go with the sport. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rafal Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 Few days ago I pass guy on Lime Electric kick scooter. He have to slow down a lot, to be able to drive on uneven pavement. On 16 inch EUC I was able to go safely at least twice as fast as him. If he try go as fast as I am, I pretty sure he will fall. conclusion: EUC are much more safe than Electric kick scooter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockyTop Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 The safest device for transportation on this list is the device that you are most skilled at and able to control. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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