Are electric scooters safe? New study indicates head and facial injuries have tripled in the last decade

Technically, British law prohibits the use of electric scooters on public roads and sidewalks – and yet you have probably encountered them during your daily commutes. But are electric scooters safe? According to a new study by Rutgers University in the United States, head and face injuries sustained while riding a scooter tripled between 2008 and 2017, and more than half of those injured were not wearing a helmet. the time.

Posted in American Journal of Otolaryngology, the study used data from about 100 US hospitals collected in the National Injury Surveillance System of the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The surveillance system extrapolates data from these hospitals to create a national estimate. Between 2008 and 2017, hospitals recorded 990 head and face injuries, resulting in a national estimate of 32,000 injuries. In 2008, the national estimate was 2,325; in 2017, it had risen to 6,947.

The most common injuries were "closed head injuries" – bruising or bleeding from the brain, for example, or a concussion. Cuts or abrasions on the face were the second most common injury. Alarmingly, about 5% of head and face injuries were fractures, usually of the nose or skull. And incidents where the use of a headset has been recorded? 66% of injured scooter drivers did not wear one.

The majority of injured scooter drivers were male adults aged 19 to 65, but one-third of them were children aged 6 to 12, the researchers found. In a press release, Coauthor Amishav Bresler, resident of Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, said, "Children use motorized scooters sold as toys, but in reality, some models can reach speeds of almost 30 miles per hour . "

Earlier this month, a scooter driver died after being hit by a truck in Paris, where electric scooters are legal and US rental companies like Lime are popular, reported CNN. In May, France banned the use of electric scooters on sidewalks. A US government study released in the same month found that of injured runners, one-third were injured during their first-ever outing.

In the United Kingdom, as Observer reports, electric scooters remain illegal: if you ride one on the sidewalk, you break the Highway Act of 1835, while if you ride on the road, you certainly break the Road Traffic Act of 1988. But it could soon Change: Jesse Norman, former state minister for transportation, told the paper in March that he would "look very closely" at how electric scooters, electric bicycles and other similar vehicles "could be licensed, licensed or allowed to operate at the road, or other forms of land.

"For the moment, you can not legally drive a scooter on a British road or sidewalk, but we see a lot of them being driven and they are not on private land," he added. "The question is how do we react to that, and that, in turn, is related to a safety issue – we want to create a transportation system that is as safe, resilient and convenient as possible." Are they finally legalized in the UK (and that rental companies like Lime and Bird are entering the market)? Please invest in a helmet before boarding.