Queens Boulevard is known for being a notoriously dangerous roadway. Thanks to the sudden increase of micro-mobility scooters and e-bikes, and the integrated bike lanes, it seems like this already dangerous thoroughfare is becoming more dangerous than ever.
Meanwhile, this trend of scooter and e-bike riders getting hit by cars continues to grow. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, there were more than 190,000 emergency room visits caused by micromobility products between 2017 and 2020, representing a 70 percent increase in overall accidents.
Last Wednesday, another scooter driver was hit on Queens Boulevard in Rego Park around 9:30 a.m. Officers from the 112th police Precinct responded to a 9-1-1 call of a motor vehicle collison near the Capital One Bank located at 95-25 Queens Blvd.
Their investigation determined that a 61-year-old woman driving a 2013 Chevrolet traveling on 62nd Drive, made the turn onto Queens Boulevard, where she collided with a 51-year-old woman operating a scooter on the service road.
EMS promptly transported the 51-year-old woman to the nearby Long Island Jewish Forest Hills Northwell Health hospital in stable condition.
It is unclear who was at fault in this accident, or if the scooter was operated in accordance with city guidelines.
Some local elected officials, including New York City Councilman Robert Holden, who represents District 30, feel that these motorized scooters and bikes pose a threat to all who encounter them.
In his district last week, a grandmother and a toddler being pushed in a stroller were hit by an e-biker who ran a light. Although no one was seriously hurt, he does not take this incident lightly.
“People are getting killed, and these things are causing accidents,” Holden said. “It’s becoming like a third world country, because anything goes in the streets of New York.”
“My goal is to get rid of these illegal scooters,” he continued. “The cops have to cooperate and confiscate them.”
