VIDEO
Circumferential traffic on sidewalks or in gardens, non-respect of traffic lights ... The upsurge of scooters in the city in recent months in urban areas is accompanied by dangerous behavior among some users, which can cause serious injuries. To raise awareness of these risks, the insurer MMA decided to organize a life-size simulation on Friday.
"A hole in the windshield"
It all starts with a practical exercise: a car drives at 50 km / h, the maximum speed allowed in the city. Suddenly, a scooter gives him priority, at 25 km / h. Above, a 15, 16-year-old boy weighing about 50 kg, without a helmet and with headphones in his ears. The shock is inevitable.
The model is projected at 17 meters. "It's quite disturbing, though ... I can hear the clatter of the manikin's head in the vehicle," says the professional driver behind the wheel, Pascal Dragotto. "Especially the windshield took over because the legs hit the hood of the car, then the body crashed on the windshield, even a hole in the windshield . "
40% of injuries are head trauma
Suffice to say that 95%, in reality, the person would be dead, because it did not respect the three golden rules when riding a scooter: to respect the rules of the road, to be visible, but first protect yourself, helmet and gloves to a minimum. The consequences can be very serious: "The most common injuries are head trauma, 40%, but also fractures of the nose or forearm," says Cécile Lechère, Prevention Manager at MMA.
To try to reduce the number of accidents (five dead and 284 injured in 2017), the Paris Council decided to adopt at the beginning of the month new measures to promote the safety of these users. At the national level, "we are finishing a regulation that should be available for the summer," says Europe 1 Emmanuel Barbe, interministerial delegate for road safety, who remains pessimistic about the number of accidents in the coming months : "I fear the worst."