An elderly woman suffered critical injuries, including a serious head injury, after a 23-year-old accidentally hit her with the Revel scooter he was on. The accident happened at the intersection of Broadway and 60th Street in Columbus Circle on Tuesday, Sept. 29. According to WLNY, the Revel scooter rider stayed at the scene and was clearly distraught after hitting the woman. The rider of the scooter was driving south on Broadway around 7:30 a.m. when he collided with the woman, who was crossing at 60th St. Police are not sure who had the right of way at the time of the incident. Witnesses rushed over to the woman to help her, but were unsure of what to do, according to a food truck worker who saw the accident. The Revel scooter company has been under fire recently because of two Revel-related fatality accidents that happened earlier this summer. The company temporarily banned New York City riders from using their scooters because they repeatedly ignored safety protocols and did not wear the provided helmets. On July 18, a local New York City reporter died after being thrown off of a Revel scooter. Nina Kapur, 26, was a passenger on the moped when its driver lost control and crashed. Neither Kapur nor the driver of the Revel moped was wearing a helmet. Near that time, a 32-year-old man suffered a severe head injury after falling from his Revel scooter and died from his injuries. Soon after these two accidents, Revel suspended its services in the city.
Revel Resumes with New Safety Protocols
WLNY reported that from January to July of this year, there were over 330 injury crashes involving Revel scooters. Kapur’s death was one of the only deaths the company has ever seen in relation to their scooters. But at the end of August, the company announced that they would be resuming their services in the city. This return comes with new safety protocols that riders must follow in order to use the Revel app and mopeds. According to a report from Verge, Revel worked directly with New York City officials in drafting these new safety rules. Some of the new regulations are:- In-app safety training designed to “sharpen your skills and your knowledge of the rules of the road”
- Required selfie of the rider wearing the provided helmet
- Expanded Revel riding lessons
- Selling affordable helmets