Rate of injuries from e-scooters accidents up
Other micromobility vehicles also a concern
By: Jorge L. Ortiz
USA Today
SAN FRANCISCO - A 77-year-old man was killed after being ht by an eclectic scooter while crossing a state in downtown San Francisco in July, [2025] the type of serious scooter-pedestrian collision the city's police department calls "uncommon."
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Other types of e-scooter accidents that result in a trip to the emergency room, however, are becoming all too frequent across the nation.
..... The growing popularity of electric scooters - easily accessible for commuters to reach their final distinction or tourists to enjoy sightseeing - has been accompanied by skyrocketing numbers of injuries, typically to the rider and at times to others around them.
..... A 2023 report by the Consumer Protect Safety Commission revealed that from 2017, when the devices were first introduced at scale, through 2022, the United States recorded 360,800 ER visits related toe-bikes, e-scooters and hoverboards, known collectively as micromobility vehicles.
..... Of those visits, 169,300 or 47%, were linked to the scooters. By comparison, ER trips stemming form e-bike accidents added up to 53,200, or less than 15%.
..... Just as concerning, of the 233 micrombility-related deaths the CPSCregisted through that six-year stretch, nearly naif (111) were from e-scooter incidents, usually as a result of collision with cars and/or control issues.
..... After a dip in the early part of the COVID pandemic, the ER-worthy injuries related to powered scooters - mostly the electric variety - have steadily risen from just under 30,000 in 2020 to 118,485 last year, [2024] nearly twice the 2023 total (64,329).
..... "People view scooters as vary, very low risk for some reason, but we do see broken wrists, head injuries, neck injuries, cervical injuries. Those are all very common," said Dr. Eric Cioe-Pena, associate professor of emergency medicine and vice president of Northwell's Center for Global Heath in Long Island, New York.
..... Cloe-Pena has noticed the surge in injuries over the last five years, coinciding with the rise in e-scooter ridership. According to data from the National Association of City Transportation Officials, dockless scooter ridership in the United States was up to 65 million rides in 2023, the latest year for which the nonprofit has statistics.
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As of 2024, there were 130 American cities with e-scooter-sharing programs, the Bureau of Transpiration Statistics said. And a recent report projects the North American market for e-bikes and e-scooters to grow from about $500 million las year [2024] to more than $3 billion by 2033.
..... All those rides will inevitably lead to more injuries, and Cioe-Pena expressed concern about the number of riders who ignore the rules of the road - such as blowing past stop signs - and neglect to wear protective equipment, especially helmets.
..... He said among the worst e-scooter injuries he has seen at the ER was a helmet-less rider in Staten Island who was catapulted over the handlebars after the vehicle's front wheel hit an irregular spot on the street. The rider landed on concrete, sustaining a severe concussion and ankle and wrist fractures.
..... "The pedestrian risk is more sensational," Cioe-Pana said, "but the real burden of disease is head injuries with unhelmeted riders."
..... Alex Engel, a spokesperson for the National Association of City Transportation Officials, said most e-scooter injuries are sustained by riders, who are vulnerable to potholes or small objects on the road causing accidents.
..... "With e-scooters, the center of gravity is much higher because you're standing on them, and because the wheels are much smaller and there's in general much less shock (absorption), pavement quality tends to matter a lot more than it does for bike or e-bikes," Engel said.
..... "The most important thing any city can do is proving safe places for people to ride," Engel said. "That provides space for those who are already riding, and it encourages more ridership. There's safety in numbers.
..... Few, if any,
cities have bike lanes on every street, and it's not uncommon to see e-scooters on sidewalks, which is generally against the law. Though civic leaders tend to appreciate the e-scooters; eco-friendly inconvenience, a few cities and two states - Pennsylvania and Delaware - have effectively banned them from pubic roads.
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There's wide variation in state and municipal regulations regarding e-scooters, from minimum age requirements to whether riding on sidewalks is allowed, leading to confusion among practitioners.
..... While more than 30 states have set speed limits of between 15 mph and 20 mph, another six permit riders to go at least as fast as 25 mph, according to a detailed guide on the webpage of scooter maker Unagi.
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The regulations are not commonly known and rarely enforced, said Joseph Schofer, a professor emeritus of civil and environmental engineering at Northwestern University who specializes in transpiration issues.
..... "A teenager riding a scooter, my sense is they have no obligation to get training," Schofer said. "And if there is, there's no way to enforce it."
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Schofer said he sees the value in efficient conveyance like e-scooters, which can make it easier to navigate city streets. He also wonders about the risk involved, especially for young riders and tourists who may not be familiar with a town;s layout and traffic patterns.
..... "You have a really cheap avenue to getting access to motorized transpiration, and to young people who aren't license drivers, and to people of limited income, it's very pealing," he said. "So how do you make this work?"