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In the case of scooters, IBDs ought to be promoting protective gear such as helmets and mitts and knee pads. Why? The meteoric rise of scooters is leading to a similarly meteoric rise in injuries
Offer what the cowboys dont
BikeBiz 7th September 2000	Business
In America there has been a 700 percent rise in scooter-related injuries since May 2000, says the Consumer Protection Safety Committee. There are no stats for the UK yet but in the run-up to Christmas the mainstream media who to date have heavily promoted scooter-use by showing celebs riding them will start to carry horror stories of kiddies crashing on their scooters.
US product liability lawyer Steven Hansen warns IBDs to be on their guard because new product categories bring new risks:
No matter where you are in the supply chain, just make sure you have your T's crossed and I's dotted when dealing with any new product especially where the upstream supply chain is quick to change or hard to track down."
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) says there were more than 4000 scooter-related injuries treated in hospital emergency rooms in August. There have been more than 9 400 emergency room-treated injuries reported for 2000 so far in the US. Nearly 90 percent of the injuries are to children under 15 years of age.
The CPSC recommends that riders, especially children, wear proper safety
gear including helmets, wrist guards, and knee and elbow pads, all of which could prevent about 60 percent of injuries.
Garages, newsagents and gadget shops will sell punters the scooters but only IBDs will have the full complement of safety gear: why not make a play of this fact to your local media? Itll get you radio coverage if nothing else.
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