California Uber Bicycle and Pedestrian Accident Lawyer

Injured in an Orange County Uber, Lyft, Lime and Bird Scooter, Bicycle, or E-Bike Accident? Call California Uber Bicycle and Pedestrian Accident Lawyer Sebastian Gibson

The Right Choice in Uber, Lyft, Lime and Bird Scooter, Bike, Electric Bicycle, Car and Pedestrian Accident Lawyers in Orange County

California Uber Bicycle and Pedestrian Accident Lawyer Sebastian Gibson has seen safety concerns are mounting for the safety of scooter, bicycle riders and cycling enthusiasts, and car owners throughout California in the wake of problems with cars and scooters since Uber, Lyft, Lime and Bird began putting their cars, scooters and ride sharing bikes on the roads in California.

The trouble began when it was noticed that the Uber self-driving cars were allegedly running through red lights, going through stop signs, making unsafe turns and failing to yield to pedestrians on the streets of San Francisco where their cars were being tested.  That was in addition to numerous Uber and Lyft vehicles being driven by Uber and Lyft drivers.  And today, the roads have become even more dangerous with the popularity of dockless scooters all across sidewalks in major cities and ride sharing bikes available in cities where bike riders have little space for them to ride in safety.

The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition also released a public warning based on first-hand experiences in Uber self-driving vehicles that while the cars were in self-driving mode, the car was observed to make an unsafe right turn through a bike lane.

Uber admitted there appeared to be a problem with the autonomous vehicles crossing bike lanes and announced that “engineers” were working to fix a flaw in the software programming.

Today, cities and the Department of Motor Vehicles are scrambling to keep up and create new rules for operators of these vehicles as emergency rooms become more and more filled with people being injured in connection with these cars, scooters and bikes.

Action By The California Department of Motor Vehicles

Uber began using their self-driving automobiles on the streets of San Francisco in December 2016 despite state officials making the declaration that the ride sharing company needs special permits to be testing its self-driving vehicles and technology in California.

On the very first day of their use, numerous Uber self-driving autonomous vehicles were allegedly caught running red lights and committing other traffic violations of the California vehicle code. One in fact was allegedly caught on camera running a red light.

Despite a threat of legal action from the California Department of Motor vehicles and California’s attorney general and Senator elect Kamala Harris.

The Attorney General’s letter to Uber, orders Uber to apply for the appropriate permits from the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles before continuing to test its cars. In the even the company does not, “the Attorney General will seek injunctive and other appropriate relief” to stop the testing, the letter stated.

In a letter to Uber from the DMV, the DMV wrote, “It is illegal for the company to operate its self-driving vehicles on public roads until it receives an autonomous vehicle testing permit. Any action by Uber to continue the operation of vehicles equipped with autonomous technology on public streets in California must cease until Uber complies.”

Uber, it appears, believes that the permitting process doesn’t apply to the company and that they “cannot in good conscience” comply with a regulation the company does not believe applies to it.

Uber’s position has been that its self-driving cars, which require a person at the wheel to monitor or control them, does not fall under California’s definition of an autonomous vehicle as one that drives “without the active physical control or monitoring of a natural person.”

The DMV further excludes vehicles which are equipped with collision avoidance systems including blind spot assistance, automated emergency braking systems, parking assistance systems, adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist, lane departure warnings and traffic jam and queuing assist.

Uber may be trying to make the argument that their cars are in the same category as Tesla cars already or soon to be on the road. The Tesla Enhanced Autopilot mode is capable of matching their cars to traffic conditions speeds, as well as keeping a car within a lane, changing a lane safety without driver assistance, and self-parking. However, the driver of a Tesla cannot take their hands off a car’s steering wheel for more than a few heartbeats without a car alarm sounding.

With respect to Uber, Lyft, Lime and Bird scooter operation or any scooter as new companies such as Razor are preparing to join in the rush to put dockless scooters on sidewalks in California cities, you must be at least 16 years of age and have a California driver’s license but are not required to have a license specific to scooters.  You must also wear a helmet while riding a scooter and may not travel faster than 25 miles per hour on the road.  Local authorities, however, are allowed to further regulate the use of these electric scooters and some cities are requiring that operators be at least 18 years of age and travel no faster than 15 miles per hour.

The Risk To Pedestrians, Bicycle Riders, Ebike Riders and Cycling Enthusiasts from Uber, Lyft, Lime and Bird Scooters, Ride Sharing Cars and Self-Driving Vehicles

When a car crosses a bike path at the last minute, it poses a threat to bicycle riders and cyclists who may not be able to stop in time to avoid a collision. It’s nearly the same as if a car were to cut in front of you and then immediately slow to make a right turn.

Bicycle riders and accident safety experts will tell anyone who listens that the Uber right-hook-style turns through a bike lane allegedly seen in San Francisco during Uber’s testing of the self-driving cars are one of the biggest causes of bicycle collisions.

Uber’s response to this situation has been to instruct drivers to take control when approaching right turns on a street with a bike lane.

The risk to operators of electric bikes, electric scooters is even greater.  Not only are such operators less protected than drivers and passengers in cars, but as one will see, riders on scooters are of all ages, many of which look far younger than 16 or 18, and some operate scooters without the use of a helmet.

The Effect On Future Public Acceptance of Self-Driving Technology, E-Bikes and Electric Scooters

If indeed it is true that Uber self-driving cars have already been making unsafe right turns through bike lanes, running red lights, going through stop signs and failing to yield to pedestrians, or any of these actions, while knowing it has flaws in their technology, and a serious accident occurs as a result of any of these actions, this could have a major effect on how the public perceives Uber in California.

And if Uber is persisting to test flawed technology on the streets of California in disregard of the safety of bicycle riders, pedestrians and car drivers, without first obtaining a permit from the California DMV, and an accident which causes injury to a bicyclist or pedestrian or anyone driving their car, this cannot have a positive influence on the public to accept self driving cars in the future in California.

This obviously has raised questions about the safety not only of bicycle riders throughout California while Uber self-driving cars are on the roads while working to fix flaws in their technology, but the safety of pedestrians, car drivers, and even passengers in self-driving Uber cars in the future.

It may be that Uber as well as manufacturers of self-driving cars feel that the only way to improve self-driving technology is to test self-driving cars in the real world and not simply in closed testing areas.

It may also be that bike lanes present a unique challenge for self-driving technology because of their quickness and an inability of the technology to predict their movements. If that is the case, the same might be true for an inability of the technology to react well to unpredictable actions of pedestrians as well, even though their actions are slower.

But to use the public as a guinea pig in a public laboratory experiment with technology that still requires work by engineers, and then to use it on the public without the approval of the DMV which is entrusted with the public’s safety, would seem to be asking for a public relations disaster to happen.

Public acceptance of electric scooters has, on the other hand, been virtually instantaneous with those operating them.  While many city dwellers bemoan the thousands of scooters lying across sidewalks in their towns, those finding the convenience to simply pick up any scooter, pay the unlocking fee and a small fee per minute of use, have not only accepted them, but now find them to be the most economical way to get around their town.

The Popularity of Uber in the Coachella Valley and Orange County

In the Coachella Valley where there are large music festivals occurring annually such as the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Stagecoach and now Desert Trip, and other events such as the Palm Springs International Film Festival and the BNP Paribas Open Tennis Tournament in Indian Wells, Uber cars are frequently used by the large number of local residents and out of town visitors to the events.

Similarly, in Orange County where there is a population of millions, hundreds of thousands of tourists at any one time visiting attractions and thousands of restaurants, bars and nightclubs for locals and visitors to choose from in popular coastal cities such as Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, Huntington Beach, Uber cars frequently seen picking up and dropping off locals and tourists at Orange County bars, restaurants, nightclubs, hotels and shopping malls.

Call California Uber Bicycle and Pedestrian Accident Lawyer Sebastian Gibson If You’re Injured In An Accident With An Uber  or Lyft Car or an Uber, Lyft, Lime, Bird E-Bike or E-Scooter

If you or a member of your family is injured or has lost their life as a result of an accident involving an Uber car, the Law Firm of California Uber Bicycle and Pedestrian Accident Lawyer Sebastian Gibson will seek the compensation you and your family deserve as a result of your accident.

California Uber Bicycle and Pedestrian Accident Lawyer Sebastian Gibson has been named a Top Lawyer in the field of personal injury for the past 14 years in a row by the prestigious Palm Springs Life Magazine and has also been named a “Superb” lawyer by Avvo, their highest rating, which evaluates attorneys all across the nation.

With over 40 years of experience in personal injury in California and international law in Great Britain with law degrees from both countries, California Uber Bicycle and Pedestrian Accident Lawyer Sebastian Gibson has been called “Brilliant” and “A Legend.” He has written articles for the Los Angeles and San Francisco Daily Journal newspapers and is also a published author.

Call California Uber Bicycle and Pedestrian Accident Lawyer Sebastian Gibson today for a free consultation about your Uber, Lyft, Lime, Bird, scooter, bicycle, Ebike (electric bicycle), pedestrian or car accident and for any type of personal injury that occurs anywhere in California.