Sally, who works as a restaurant manager in Clifton in BRistol, was taking her first trip on a rental e-scooter in two years when she hit a pothole and was thrown from the vehicle
A woman from Bristol spent five days in hospital recovering from injuries sustained after the e-scooter she was riding struck a pothole.
Sally*, who works as a restaurant manager in Clifton, had been using one of the vehicles to travel home following a shift last week.
However, as she turned onto the dimly-lit Redland Road, she collided with a pothole. The unfortunate woman, who described herself as naturally cautious and was taking her first ride on a rental scooter in two years, was thrown from the vehicle and sustained a deep laceration to her head.
Following an agonising seven-hour wait in A&E, it was confirmed she had also fractured five ribs and her collarbone. Sally attributes the poor condition of Bristol’s roads, rather than the e-scooter itself, for her accident.
“There are potholes everywhere, and I really did not see this one that I hit,” she said, reports Bristol Live.
“Obviously, Redland Road is not extremely illuminated. There’s not a lot of light, and I did not see that porthole whatsoever.
“I wasn’t speeding much either, because I’m always quite careful, and I was coming out from one of the minor roads as well, so the only acceleration that I had was to accelerate to restart the e-scooter.”
Sally now faces eight weeks away from work and will only be entitled to statutory sick pay during that period, considerably less than her usual earnings. She has stated her intention to pursue a compensation claim against Bristol City Council.
Councillor Ed Plowden, chair of the transport and connectivity committee, said: “Making roads safe and reliable for all users is a priority. Repairing potholes is an important part of maintaining the road network, and we continue to seek the much-needed additional funding required to more effectively meet this challenge.
“Roads are inspected regularly to check their condition. Every road is checked at least once a year, with busy roads inspected once a month. We aim to repair potholes within 28 days, in line with national guidelines and we are working closely with our contractors to make sure repairs are completed on time.”
Sally owes a debt of gratitude to a mystery good Samaritan for preventing the situation from deteriorating further following the incident.
A gentleman she knows only as Matthew halted his vehicle upon discovering her lying injured on the carriageway. He contacted emergency services, but upon learning an ambulance wouldn’t arrive promptly he took the initiative and transported Sally to hospital himself.
The injured woman is now eager to locate Matthew to express her gratitude personally. Yet, due to her condition when he assisted her she cannot recall any distinguishing information about him.
“He put me in his car without even thinking about it, even though I was bleeding everywhere,” she said.
“He tried to talk to me while I was in complete shock and hurt, to keep me awake I suppose. He dropped me off at the emergency ward at Southmead hospital and ensured I was taken care of.”
The extent of injuries sustained by e-scooter riders or resulting from incidents involving these vehicles remains challenging to determine. Based on data from police forces across Great Britain, 1,312 collisions involving e-scooters occurred in 2024, rising from 1,292 in 2023.
Six fatalities resulted from those incidents, with 444 individuals sustaining serious injuries.
The actual number of collisions involving e-scooters is likely considerably higher because, as the Department of Transport – which releases the crash statistics – acknowledges, “It should be noted that a considerable percentage of non-fatal casualties are not reported to the police. Non-fatal casualties for e-scooter users are amongst the most likely to be under-reported in road casualty data since they have no obligation to inform the police of collisions.”
Sally stated she was fortunate she was travelling at approximately 11.45pm on a Tuesday evening. During a busier period, she could easily have been propelled into the path of an approaching vehicle, or struck by one travelling behind her.
The likelihood of accidents increases on roads in poor condition. Research from the 2021 Dott London trial, conducted alongside cycling safety technology company See.Sense, discovered ‘strong correlations between high levels of braking and swerving, and poor road surface conditions. This could occur in areas with potholes or poor infrastructure, causing riders to swerve or brake to avoid crashes, as well in roads with rough surfaces – such as cobbled streets – resulting in reduced control of the e-scooter’.
Bristol City Council repaired 4,398 potholes during 2024/25. The local authority has received an ‘amber’ classification for road maintenance from the Department of Transport which indicates “room for improvement”.
*not her real name
You must be logged in to post a comment Login