E-Scooters Injury Study

Surprising Findings In Recent E-Scooter Study

E-scooters have been a growing trend all over the country, and not without controversy.

A study on e-scooters suggests an additional reason the public perception on e-scooters is so negative is that almost 30% of riders injured on e-scooters had been intoxicated, according to the first-ever study of scooter-related injuries conducted by the Centers for Disease Control.

It was conducted over an 87 day period last fall in Austin, Texas. There the number of e-scooters within city limits spiked from 0 to 15,000 just in the past year.

The CDC determined in their study, that in a minimal time frame, almost 200 crashes with e-scooters involved severe injuries. Largely due to the fact that no one wears helmets while riding them.

Interestingly only a small number of the injuries  (10%) occurred from accidents with vehicles. Though most of the riders ride in the street.

The most common reason for crashes, other than drunken riders, was speeding.

There seems to be this perception that a majority of riders of e-scooters frequently get into accidents with vehicles.  When in fact, according to the study, the injuries typically occur from falls on the scooter. For things like when riders lose their balance, hit a curb or run into a structure like a tree, light pole or park bench.

The research study found that most of the people crashed on e-scooters upon their first experience with riding on one of them. The study also concluded that most of the injured riders were males.
Below is a Kaiser Health News interview on the subject.

Typical injuries of e-scooter riders were for things like cuts, bruises, broken bones, and about 15% of the injuries that were looked at were traumatic brain injuries.

A traumatic brain injury is usually catastrophic, expensive, and will typically leave you permanently disabled.

The high costs of health care were not covered in the CDC research study. However, one of the primary points to take into account are the mandatory helmet laws that various states have. Florida, for instance, repealed it’s mandatory helmet laws for motorcycle riders and saw a dramatic increase in traumatic brain injuries as a result. Here is a link to the evaluation done in Florida.

The cost to treat those injuries was absorbed for the most part by taxpayer-funded Medicare.

Dockless e-scooters are spewed all over city sidewalks in order to turn a profit for a private company.

Ask yourself this: Should the public be compensated for the use of public infrastructure in order for a private corporation to make money?

Below is a Kaiser Health News interview on the subject.

With Head Injuries Mounting, Will Cities Put Their Feet Down On E-Scooters?

As dockless electric scooters run roughshod through cities nationwide, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issues its first assessment on injuries and safety. It studied the injuries linked to riding e-scooters in Austin, Texas, from September through November. More than 200 people were hurt in scooter crashes and mishaps — with nearly half suffering head injuries.

Learn more