On the morning of August 6th, a woman riding an electric scooter was hit by a commercial truck and killed on Market Street between 4th and 5th Streets in San Francisco, according to the San Francisco Fire Department.
The woman was pronounced dead on the scene, as confirmed by the Fire Department.
This incident has raised concerns about the growing number of electric scooters and similar modes of transportation being used in San Francisco.
A report released by the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) on July 30th mentioned that the number of collision incidents involving stand-up powered transportation devices causing injuries is on the rise, including electric scooters, Go-Peds, electric skateboards, and motorized scooters.
According to the report, from 2018 to 2025, the number of such collision incidents has increased from 36 per year to 315.
The electric scooter rider who was killed on August 6th was classified as a “pedestrian” in the Fire Department’s report.
Data from DataSF shows that between January and May this year, there were a total of 486 collision incidents involving pedestrians, excluding motor vehicles.
During the same period, the data platform reveals that 90 traffic collision incidents resulted in serious injuries, while 10 were fatal.
San Francisco has two major electric scooter operators, Lime and Spin, each allowed to deploy a maximum of 3,250 electric scooters throughout the city.
SFMTA has established safety regulations for riders renting electric scooters, including the mandatory wearing of helmets, riding on roads or bike lanes rather than sidewalks, and maintaining speeds not exceeding 15 miles per hour.
According to DataSF, in June this year, SFMTA issued 796 citations for dangerous riding of electric scooters and recorded 819 cases of illegal parking. These violations do not include private electric scooter riders, as SFMTA does not have jurisdiction over them.