Wear helmets with electric scooters, asks the US Health Agency

Head trauma tops the list of serious injuries involving the use of electric scooters – injuries that could often have been prevented with the use of a helmet, according to a survey of US centers of control and Disease Prevention and Public Health Department of Austin.

According to the report, almost half of the runners identified in the study had suffered a serious injury, such as a broken leg, and a surface condition such as a pothole or a crack in the street could have contributed to their injury. Less than 1% of the wounded wore a helmet.

The survey, the first of the CDC's use of scooters, gathered information from people treated at Austin's hospitals in the last northern autumn about injuries related to the use of scooters. .

This comes among the many cases of injuries and deaths related to the use of scooters in US cities, including the District, Los Angeles and Dallas; it also follows recent news about scooter failures and breakdowns.

The devices, which are installed in more than 100 cities around the world, have resulted in a new clbad of injuries in emergency rooms.

Fractures of the nose, wrists and shoulders, as well as lacerations and fractures of the face have been reported over the last year. The study investigated the reported peak of injuries related to the use of devices that have become ubiquitous in many streets and trails.

In the District of Columbia area, appliances can be found throughout downtown Washington and are available in the cities of Virginia to Arlington and Alexandria. The district announced last week the extension of its program, which allows nearly 5,000 non-docking devices, including bicycles and scooters, to be operational.

Austin's badysis revealed that nearly half of people injured while using a scooter had suffered a head injury and about 15% had suffered traumatic brain injury . Among these were concussions and internal bleeding.

"These injuries could have been avoided," the study said.

"Studies have shown that cyclists reduce the risk of head and brain injuries by wearing a helmet, and wearing a helmet could also reduce the risk of injury to the head and brain in the event of a collision with an electric scooter. "

The most common serious injuries were bone fractures, followed by nerve, tendon or ligament injuries.

Health officials across the US have described the outbreak of trauma as a "public health crisis" and said studies like Austin's could help communities better understand how to prevent injuries as they grow. as scooters become more widely available.

Health officials at CDC and Austin examined serious injuries that occurred from September 5 to November 30, interviewing 125 runners and badyzing medical records for 65 people.

The report concludes that the study underestimates the prevalence of e-scooter-related injuries, limiting itself to investigating only the injuries of riders who sought care in an emergency room or having been treated by the emergency medical services of the city. The survey did not identify people who sought medical attention in other emergency care facilities or in private doctors' offices.

The data indicates that the injuries occurred at any time of the day, but about 40% occurred between 6pm and 6am, indicating more problems during the dark hours.

More than half (55%) of the wounded were men and nearly half were young adults aged 18 to 29 years. The study examined cases of injured runners aged 9 to 79 years old.

The report recommends a better introduction to "safe driving practices on electric scooters" and that these educational campaigns focus on the use of a helmet and d & # 39; Safe driving speed.

Jeff Taylor, head of the Epidemiology and Disease Surveillance Unit at the Department of Public Health of Austin, Texas, who oversaw the study, said that the data indicated that many perceptions about scooter injuries were inaccurate, including that a collision with cars was the main cause.

Instead, the survey found that falls were the major factor in injuries, including incidents in which bikers lost their balance or struck a pothole or object on the road. . More than half of those surveyed were injured on the street, while only one-third were on the sidewalk, according to the report.

As with other road accidents, some behaviors may have contributed to this: More than a third of the injured reported that speeding contributed to their injury and about 30% reported drinking alcohol before driving.

Only 2 of 10 injured drivers said they thought it was due to a malfunction of the scooter. One-third of those surveyed were on their first turn when they were injured.

"You remember when you cycled for the first time – you probably came down the first time," said Robert Spillar, director of the Austin Department of Transportation, at a press conference. "It's a new way, and as a community we're learning to use them."

Transportation officials in Austin said the injury rate remains low for a service that has generated millions of trips since it arrived last year.

During the study period of nearly three months, there has been nearly a million trips by scooter to Austin, according to the city's transportation department. According to the study, on average, 20 people were injured per 100,000 trips by scooter.

Ryan McConaghy, executive director of the Micromobility Coalition, a group that represents scooter manufacturers, said he praised the CDC's report and attention to safety. But he cited other studies suggesting that electric scooter users experience a similar injury rate to cyclists and a much lower injury rate than motorists.

"Like using a bike, motorcycle or car, using a personal transport vehicle is a risk," said McConaghy. "Motorists are confronted every day with this risk, whether it is a risk of human error, a collision with another commuter or poor driving conditions. the road."

The scooter companies Bird, Spin and Lime said they support the CDC study. Companies said safety was a top priority and encouraged users to take precautionary measures, such as avoiding wearing headphones or carrying anything in their hands while driving.

Bird, Lime and Skip have basic safety information about their apps and tags on their scooters, as well as training instructions. Bird asks users to download a driver's license to confirm that they are at least 18 years old. Some companies say they provide free helmets.

"As the demand for electric scooters increases across the country, the sector is committed to ensuring the safety of its fleet, while urging its customers to comply with safety requirements and the Highway Code," said Mr. McConaghy.

The CDC has provided four epidemiologists to badist in the data collection and badysis of the Austin study.