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. 2021 Jan;221(1):227-232.
doi: 10.1016/j.amjsurg.2020.07.020. Epub 2020 Jul 25.

Standing electric scooter injuries: Impact on a community

Matthew B Bloom  1 , Ali Noorzad  2 , Carol Lin  3 , Milton Little  4 , Ernest Y Lee  5 , Daniel R Margulies  6 , Sam S Torbati  7
Affiliations

Standing electric scooter injuries: Impact on a community

Matthew B Bloom et al. Am J Surg. 2021 Jan.

Abstract

Background: This study investigates the impact of standing electric scooter-related injuries within an entire integrated hospital system.

Methods: We performed a retrospective review of patients involved in standing electric scooter incidents presenting throughout an urban hospital network over a 10 month period. Rates of Google searches of scooter-related terms performed locally were used as a surrogate for ride frequency. Injury, mechanism, and cost data were analyzed.

Results: Data on 248 patients were reviewed. Twenty-three (9%) were under 18 years old. Loss of balance was the most common cause of injury accounting for nearly half, while tripping over a scooter 14 (6%) affected the elderly disproportionately. Eight (3%) riders wore helmets. All TBI and closed head injuries occurred in unhelmeted patients. Most incidents occurred in the street, only one in a bicycle lane. Facilities costs were greater for patients under the influence of alcohol and marijuana.

Conclusion: Policies related to the use of mandated safety equipment, dedicated bicycle lanes, and the proper storage of empty vehicles should be further investigated.

Keywords: Bicycle lanes; Electric scooters; Helmet use; Injury prevention; Pedestrian.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of competing interest All authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Incidence of presentation by decade of life is normally distributed.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Google Trends™ search results for the frequency of web searches of terms synonymous with electric scooters which originated from the same geographic area as our study population were used as surrogate for relative monthly scooter use.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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