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The craze for e-scooters has been handy for some, annoying for others and painful, even deadly, for some unlucky ones. A new study released Thursday seems to highlight some of the (perhaps obvious) factors common to e-scooter accidents: being intoxicated or intoxicated and not wearing a helmet. .
Researchers in California – the state in which companies offering electric scooters as part of a carpool program – began operating in 2017 – reviewed hospital records of people visiting the city. one of three trauma centers in the San Diego area with injuries an e-scooter.
Between September 1, 2017 and October 31, 2018, they discovered that at least 103 patients from these centers had been injured by electric scooters. Most of these injuries involved a fractured limb or face, but nearly 20% had internal bleeding from the skull, while a little less had suffered a concussion without bleeding. Fortunately, most injuries were easily treated and almost 90% were returned home the same day.
When the authors looked at the victims, they also found clear patterns. Most (65%) were men; almost all (98%) did not wear a helmet; and they had often taken drugs just before their injury. Of the 80% of patients tested for alcohol, just under half had an alcohol level above the legal limit of conduct (0.08%). The urine of only 32 patients was screened for drugs, and more than half of this group was tested positive for a mind-altering substance – mainly THC but also stimulants such as methamphetamine and cocaine. .
The findings of the team were published Thursday in the Trauma Surgery and Acute Care Open.
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Although the study is one of the first to provide a detailed overview of who is most likely to be injured by the use of electric scooters, it has some limitations. On the one hand, the authors only studied a small group of people that the medical staff had injured enough to require care in a trauma center. But there are a lot of people who get fooled by an electric scooter and receive medical attention only at an emergency treatment center or emergency room. These people might be more or less likely to wear a helmet or drink and drink, but we can not say for sure how much.
There is little data on whether wearing a helmet or avoiding drug use while driving an e-scooter could prevent injury, but it is not entirely feasible.
"[G]Given the previous protective effects of helmets on other types of motorized and non-motorized vehicles, wearing the helmet will probably have a beneficial effect on this population as well, "the authors wrote.
Ensuring that e-scooter users wear a helmet is easier than ever before. Some constituency services have begun to provide free or discounted helmets at the request of the user, noted the authors. But states where these services are legal have often refrained from making them mandatory. California has even passed a new law this year to amend a provision mandating helmet use by adults using their electric scooters on bike paths and streets (minors are still required to do so). The legislation was passed, at least in part, because the rideshare companies complained that the mandatory wearing of the helmet by users would have discouraged new customers.
And while some cities and countries have fought and even banned these services – in the case of Nashville this year, following a scooter-related death – others are embracing it, and industry as a whole seems to be on track to grow and prosper in the coming years. As the authors warn, the more popular these devices become, the more people could undoubtedly get hurt. And the more we have to find ways to keep people safe.
"Early research into the safety and injury types of electronic scooters is essential to guide the public and legislators on injury prevention strategies for this evolving mode of transportation," the authors wrote.
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