Electric scooters are highly popular, but they may not be the safest form of transportation.
Researchers at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) report that injuries to scooter riders have surged, coinciding with scooter use.
The researchers say the use of electric scooters grew 50-fold over the last decade. But their study also found that riders engaged in increasingly risky behavior, such as riding without a helmet, and even riding while intoxicated.
Another factor is where scooters tend to be most used – densely populated urban areas like Harlem. Riders also tend to be young.
“… e-bicycle injuries doubled every year from 2017 to 2022 …”
The study found that e-bicycle injuries doubled every year from 2017 to 2022 – bad enough – while e-scooter injuries rose by 45%. Injured e-riders tended to be slightly older and wore helmets less often than conventional riders.
E-scooter riders were more likely to sustain internal injuries than conventional scooter riders, while upper extremity injuries were more common among non-EV riders.
This week the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced that 7,300 Razor Icon electric scooters are being recalled for a defect that contributed to more than 30 injuries.
‘Remarkable increase…in injuries’
“The U.S. had a remarkable increase in micromobility injuries during the study period,” said co-lead author Dr. Adrian Fernandez, chief resident with the UCSF Department of Urology. “This increase in accidents not only introduced a demographic shift, but also underscores an urgent need for added safety measures. There are undeniable health and environmental benefits to micromobility vehicle use, but structural changes must be taken to promote safe riding.”
Data came from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s (CPSC) National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, which has collected statistics from emergency departments on consumer product-related injuries since 1978. Researchers looked at factors like injury type, injury region and helmet use.
“… e-scooter injuries rose from 8,566 to 56,847 …”
E-bicycle injuries dramatically increased from 751 in 2017 to 23,493 in 2022, and e-scooter injuries rose from 8,566 to 56,847 during the same period.
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