Faulty Ola S1 Pro throws rider off on a speed breaker: 16 stitches, broken hand

As Ola S1 Pro has become one of the most popular scooters in the market, customers from across the country are complaining about various issues. The latest one is from Guwahati, Assam where a rider was allegedly thrown off the scooter due to a faulty regeneration system.

The scooter went airborne crashing and skidding. My son was severely hospitalised on 26th March where he had fractures in left hand and 16 stitches in right hand due to fault in ola S1 Pro @bhash @OlaElectric pic.twitter.com/nwjTDv7SBA

— BALWANT SINGH (@BALWANT1962) April 15, 2022

The information is provided by the father of the rider who was riding the scooter. The father Balwant Singh shared his experience on Twitter. He claims that they got the delivery of the Ola S1 Pro on 26th March this year. On the same day, his son was riding the scooter and due to the faulty system in the scooter, it accelerated instead of slowing down. This incident happened just before a speed breaker.

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Due to the sudden acceleration, the Ola S1 Pro became airborne and threw the rider off the scooter. The crash caused several injuries to the rider. The rider was hospitalised where he received 16 stitches on the right hand. His left hand suffered multiple fractures.

@OlaElectric on 11th April towed away the scooter and an Executive Chandan Kumar called to understand the issue, but thereafter till date no phone call from Ola when I had requested a call from your legal team. Please contact asap @bhash (4/n) pic.twitter.com/DikvX83m3f

— BALWANT SINGH (@BALWANT1962) April 15, 2022

They had to fly the rider from Guwahati to Mumbai for surgery. The left hand now has five wires and a plate. The father also claims that two fingers might not ever work.

Ola towed the scooter back

On 11th April, Ola towed the scooter for repairs and investigate the issue. Ola executive Chandan Kumar called to understand the issue but after that, he has not received any updates. Balwant Singh wanted to talk to the legal team of Ola but he is yet to talk to anyone from the senior management.

According to the latest tweet, Ola is yet to get back to Balwant Singh and share the data from the scooter with the family.

Expert committee will look into the matter

We have constituted an Expert Committee to enquire into these incidents and make recommendations on remedial steps.

Based on the reports, we will issue necessary orders on the defaulting companies. We will soon issue quality-centric guidelines for Electric Vehicles.

— Nitin Gadkari (@nitin_gadkari) April 21, 2022

Nitin Gadkari, Union Transport and Highway Minister has replied to the tweets of Balwant Singh today. He said that he has formed an official committee that will investigate these reports. Gadkari also said that new guidelines that will define the quality of a scooter will be available soon.

Not the first such incident

A few months ago, an owner of Ola S1 Pro shared that his brand new scooter started going in reverse mode automatically. Then a video surfaced online showing an Ola S1 Pro lying on the ground and the rear wheel moving at a high speed without any accelerator input.

The Ola S1 Pro features a reverse mode, which if engaged, can make the scooter go in reverse. However, in these reported incidents, the scooter went into reverse without the mode being engaged. It seems like a clear case of a software glitch. Many of the controls and features of Ola S1 Pro are operated via in-built software, which can be updated from time to time, just like a smartphone.

Ola S1 Pro is also under government investigation along with a few other electric scooters in India for catching fire. Ola is currently working to bring new software to the S1 Pro and has not commented on the recent incidents officially.

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