Scooter rider hit by car in Nashville

NASHVILLE (WDEF) – The future of scooters in city areas just took a hit, quite literally, in Nashville.

Tourists on scooters are both a big issue and big business now in Music City.

You can ride the motorized scooters on sidewalks and out in traffic, with some drivers cutting between the two.

But Monday at 7:50 AM, a scooter driver was running full out at the intersection of 5th Avenue and Commerce Street in downtown Nashville.

In police surveillance video, you can see the car come to a stop at the red light, but the scooter driver shoots on through the intersection.

He is sideswiped by a BMW that had the right of way.

The driver survived the collision. He was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries.  He mainly complained of soreness.

The scooters have been sold and rented without regulations in many larger cities.

But scooter companies this fall approached Chattanooga city leaders with the idea of providing guidelines and rules for their operation here.

The rules drafted by city staffers in consultation with the companies would keep them off streets and restrict them to bike paths and parks.

But Chattanooga’s City Council has not approved any rules at this point.

In a presentation, a scooter company representative called the vehicles good matches for urban tourists and the area’s transportation goals.