Electric scooters send more people to the hospital than bikes and go, new studies find

During one year's period in two emergency stations in Los Angeles, several people were injured while driving standing electric scooters than cycling or traveling on foot, according to the results of a groundbreaking new study.

Documenting injury statistics from September 2017 to August 2018, the study published this week in the journal JAMA Network Open showed that many of these injuries were serious, if not serious.

Of the 249 patients who received treatment for scooter-related injuries, almost 28 percent suffered from confusion, sprains and lacerations. About 30 percent had fractures, and just over 40 percent were treated for head injuries, the study found. Almost all patients were obliterated from the emergency departments, but 1[ads1]5 were hospitalized, including two with severe head injuries placed in the intensive care units.

During the same period at the two emergency departments, researchers identified 195 visits for cyclist injuries and 181 visits for pedestrian injuries.

"Riders share roads with fast vehicle traffic, but seem to underestimate dangers; we found that 94.3% of the observed riders in our community did not wear a helmet," said the study of scooter users. "While electric scooter riders in California are required to be at least 16 years after state law and 18 years after leases, we found that 10.8% of electric scooter damage was in patients under 18 years of age."

The study added, "Although the California law required helmet use while driving electric scooters throughout the study period, only 4.4% of injured scooter riders were documented to wear a helmet."

As electric scooters such as Bird and Lime began to dump tens of thousands of scooters into dozens of cities around the country during the summer, injured riders began flowing into the emergency room, according to trauma officers. Ever since, these doctors – many of them shocked by the severity of the patient's injuries – have documented the injuries to get a better sense of how e-scooters have hit cities.

Some health professionals have referred to the wave of injuries as a "public health crisis". Last year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced plans to study the health risks associated with two-wheeled vehicles by analyzing injuries to riders and pedestrians in Austin within two months.

E-scooters are not just hurting riders. This month, Wally Ghurabi, medical director of the Nethercutt Emergency Center at the UCLA Medical Center in Santa Monica, told The Washington Post that e-scooters pose significant dangers to elderly pedestrians and disabled people.

"I've seen pedestrians injured with scooters with broken hips, more bone fractures, broken ribs and joint injuries, and soft tissue injuries such as laceration and deep nasal injuries," says Ghurabi. He estimates he sees several people injured by e-scooters every week. [19659002] The JAMA study seems to be the first and most comprehensive study of damage patterns associated with e-scooter damage so far, and provide a window into how people are using a new form of technology.

In recent months, many riders have reported Being damaged by scooters as a malfunction, throwing riders off the vehicles at high speed Last year, Lime – one of the world's largest scooter companies – was forced to issue two recalls after The Post reported that some of their scooters had batteries that could catch fire and others included baseboards that split half as they rode them.

Lime said in a statement sent to the post that the safety of riders and society is the company's "number one Priority ". Lime said it has upgraded its scooters with better wheels and suspension, plus extra braking and improved balance. [19659002] "We still believe government investments in protected cycle lanes, and paths are critical," the statement added. "Lime supports AMA's study recommendations to further develop helmet design and industry to continue to focus on safety."

Paul Steely White, Birds Director of Security Policy and Lawyer, said the company is hoping for an opportunity to have a collaborative conversation "with the study's authors focused on" proven preventive measures and education. "

" "While the report clearly highlights the parity of safety between bicycles and e-scooters, it does not take into account the sheer number of e-scooter tours taken – the number of reported injuries would represent a fraction of 1 percent of the total number of e-scooters. rides, "White said." Moreover, the report fails to put e-scooter injuries into context as they relate to the high number and severity of injuries and deaths caused by motorcycles and cars. "

The study does not discuss the appeal of electric scooters and call them an "innovative" form of transport with the potential to ease traffic congestion, in a comment included in the study, says pediatric professor and professor of epidemiology at the University of Washington, Frederick P. Rivara, that researchers are not "troglodytes as samples to put the genius back in the bottle. "Two-wheeled rental cars, he said, are" here to stay. "

He added:" The companies that rent both motorized and non-motorized 2-wheeled cows retøy, should ensure appropriate helmets. Failure to do so is like a car rental company renting cars without seat belts. "