E-scooter injuries up 222 percent in last four years

Jan. 9 -- Electric scooter accidents are sending droves to emergency rooms -- especially young adults, a new study finds.

As e-scooters' popularity has exploded, so have injuries -- skyrocketing 222 percent between 2014 and 2018 to more than 39,000. Hospital admissions also soared -- 365 percent to nearly 3,300.

Head injuries made up about a third of the injuries -- twice the rate seen in bicycle accidents, researchers said.

Men suffered about two-thirds of the injuries. Most riders hurt for the first time were between 18 and 34 years old, researchers found.

"E-scooters are a fast and convenient form of transportation and help to lessen traffic congestion, especially in dense, high-traffic areas," said senior author Dr. Benjamin Breyer, a urologist at the University of California, San Francisco.

"But we're very concerned about the significant increase in injuries and hospital admissions that we documented, particularly during the last year, and especially with young people, where the proportion of hospital admissions increased 354 percent," he added in a university news release.

Health officials nationwide are alarmed by the number of fractures, dislocations and head injuries showing up in trauma centers from e-scooter accidents, researchers noted.

A likely reason: Few regulations for e-scooter use exist, particularly about the need to wear a helmet. Only 2 percent to 5 percent of injured riders wore helmets, the study found.

Researchers think mandatory helmet use would dramatically reduce the number of head injuries from e-scooter accidents.

For the study, they reviewed data from a nationwide injury reporting system.

Between 2014 and 2018, almost 40,000 injuries from powered scooters were reported nationwide, the study found. The accident rate more than tripled over that period -- from 6 per 100,000 people in 2014 to 19 in 2018. The most common injuries were fractures, at 27 percent, scrapes and bruises at 23 percent, and cuts at 14 percent.

In all, 78 percent of injuries happened in cities.

But researchers said the figures may underestimate the true size of the problem as some injured e-scooter riders don't seek emergency room care.

The report was published online Jan. 8 in the journal JAMA Surgery.

More information

Learn more about electric scooter safety from Cedars Sinai, Los Angeles.