E-scooters send thousands to hospitals and injure even more in the US, researchers say
Electronic scooters have been blamed for tens of thousands of injuries across the United States and more than 3,000 people admitted to hospitals over five years, according to new data published by the American Medical Association.
E-scooters have been popping up in cities all over the country with brands like Bird and Lime building a small industry around letting people rent the motorized scooters with a smartphone app.
The rental scooters have brought debate for city leaders around the United States as local officials try to figure out how to regulate the companies.
The data, collected from emergency departments, shows almost 40,000 people were hurt while riding e-scooters between 2014 and 2018. The estimates show the numbers jump sharply from 8,000 in 2017 to more than 14,000 the next year.
Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco published the data Wednesday in the journal JAMA Surgery.
The researchers estimate almost 3,300 people had to be hospitalized for e-scooter injuries.
An association of e-scooter companies said it’s important to look at the numbers in context.
“The popularity of e-scooters has skyrocketed in recent years, and as with any mode of transportation, a rising number of travelers will mean an increase in the incidence of injuries,” said Ryan McConaghy, executive director of The Micromobility Coalition, which was founded by Uber and Lime to represent the industry.
In an emailed statement to McClatchy News, McConaghy said, “E-scooter users experience a similar rate of injury to bicyclists and a far lower rate of injury than car drivers. To put UCSF’s statistics into perspective, in 2018 alone, 4.5 million people were seriously injured and 40,000 people lost their lives due to car accidents, according to the National Safety Council.”
A report released over the summer tied e-scooters to eight deaths between the fall of 2017 and June 2019, according to Consumer Reports.
The City of Austin and public health officials studied rental e-scooter injuries in the city for three months in 2018. They found 192 people who went to the emergency room for injuries from e-scooters.
That works out to be about 20 injuries for every 100,000 rides, according to the Austin study.
Both the Austin study and the new national data point out how frequent head injuries are with e-scooters. Nationally, about one-third of the people who showed up at the ER for e-scooter injuries had head injuries, “more than double the rate of head injuries experienced by bicyclists.”
According to the study from UC San Francisco researchers, earlier research found less than 5% of riders wore a helmet.
The study’s authors said, “E-scooter companies should facilitate and encourage helmet use by increasing helmet access.”
The scooter industry group says they are working to get more riders to wear helmets. “Micromobility providers also make rider safety a top priority by promoting helmet use through their apps, online channels, demonstration events, and helmet distribution,” McConaghy said.
According to the researchers, “Study limitations include the lack of detailed clinical reports such as collision scenario, alcohol use, or helmet use.”
This story was originally published January 8, 2020 at 8:08 AM with the headline "E-scooters send thousands to hospitals and injure even more in the US, researchers say."
