Your first e-scooter ride will probably take you to the hospital

According to a government safety report released this week, one in three people injured in an electric scooter is injured on their very first outing.

The CDC and the Austin Public Health Department analyzed data from the emergency departments of nine Austin hospitals between September and November 2018. Nearly 1 million residents of the city currently have access to approximately 14,000 dockless electric scooters. during these three months only. Two were non-cyclists (a pedestrian and a cyclist) and the remaining 190 drove the motorized scooter at the time. But the authors noted that this report probably underestimates the actual number of injuries as it does not include emergency care centers or primary care practices.

One in three injured was driving an electric scooter for the first time. In fact, most of those who landed at the hospital were novices; about 63% had climbed nine times or less before getting hurt.

Nearly half of the accidents resulted in head injuries, with only one cyclist wearing a helmet. The other most common injuries were upper limbs, including arms, shoulders, wrists and hands (70%); lower limbs, including legs, knees, ankles and feet (55%); as well as the chest and the abdomen (18%).

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Most accidents did not involve cars; only 10% of injured riders were affected by motor vehicles. Instead, half (50%) said their accidents were due to road conditions, including potholes and cracks. More than a third admitted to having fallen too fast and 10% hit a sidewalk. A little less than one in five (19%) said that their scooter had malfunctioned. And more than half (55%) were injured on the street, while one-third were injured on the sidewalk.

The report called for more training and education on the operation and safety of the electronic scooter to prevent injuries, noting that "these educational messages should emphasize wearing a helmet and maintaining a safe speed while driving. an electric scooter. Runners aged 18 to 29 years in particular, as nearly half of all injuries were reported among young adults and that more than one in four (29%) victims consumed alcohol within 12 hours of the collision. Currently, many scooter companies offer instructional videos on their apps, such as Lime's "How to Lime" clip, but the drivers do not. Required fields to watch them before taking a ride.

Motorized scooters from companies such as Bird, Lime and Ford

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Spin has appeared all over the country, charging users between 15 cents and 1 dollar a minute to rent electric scooters moored in an urban area that can travel up to 15 miles at the hour. (The average speed of most cyclists in the city is about the same, although one can reach 20 miles per hour down a hill.)

According to Grand View Research, Inc., the global market for electric scooters is expected to reach $ 41.98 billion by 2030, boosting carpool heavyweights like Lyft.

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and Uber to participate in the action. Uber and Alphabet

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Last year, Lyft invested $ 335 million in Lime and rolled out its own motorized scooters in cities like Austin, Los Angeles, Miami and Washington, D.C.

But the rapid expansion of electronic scooters also raises security concerns. Prior to this new CDC study, the Consumer Product Safety Commission reported 3,300 scooter injuries in 2016, 25% of which were to the head and face. After Bird's arrival in Memphis last June, local doctors reported an increase in emergency department visits for head and face injuries related to electric scooters. (Again, many runners did not wear a helmet.) And a handful of electric scooter riders died in the United States after hitting cars in Austin and Washington, DC, while a Dallas man was killed after falling off his scooter while he was returning home after work.