Deadly electric scooters ‘MORE dangerous than motorbikes’ – with triple the risk of brain injury

HealthNews Health WCN02R Electric scooters being used in a cycle lane on Brighton seafront – It is illegal in UK to use these scooters on the public highway or pavements Credit: Alamy E-SCOOTERS have a higher serious injury rate than motorbikes and a greater risk of brain damage, a study suggests. Electric scooters’ popularity has soared but thousands get seized by the police as it is illegal to ride your own in public. NHS doctors said riders not wearing helmets and behaving recklessly might be behind the high injury rate. They analysed 15,247 patients who were wounded in two-wheeled crashes in 18 cities across England and Wales between 2020 and 2022. Sign up for the Health newsletter Thank you! Newest Videos Motorbikes and bicycles caused far more injuries overall – 7,000 each compared to 580 for scooters – but they were less likely to be serious. E-scooter victims were 3.5 times more likely to be diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury than motorcyclists, and 70 per cent more likely than a bicyclist. Their risk of bleeding from a severe artery or vein injury was also 3.2 times higher than a biker, and internal organ injury was 1.5 times more likely. Women tended to sustain worse injuries than men. The study did not compare death rates but said official figures of e-scooter deaths are probably underestimated. It found only one in every 17 injured e-scooter riders had been wearing a helmet, compared to one in two cyclists and three in four bikers. Most read in Health Writing in the journal Scientific Reports, study author David Bodansky, a surgeon at Chelsea and Westminster NHS Trust, said: “In the UK, millions of privately owned e-scooters operate outside of regulatory frameworks. “Injury rates and patterns resemble those of pedal cyclists and the injury burden has grown with rising e-scooter use.” The authors said the rate of head injuries is “disproportionate” and added: “Foremost is the rarity of helmet use, leaving the cranium largely unprotected during a fall. “The standing posture places the rider’s centre of mass high and far forward, so that abrupt deceleration tends to pitch the body headfirst over the handlebar. “While the small-diameter wheels, often without suspension, are readily arrested by kerbs, potholes, tram tracks and other surface irregularities and provide little grip on wet or uneven ground.” They said helmets should be made a legal requirement and scooters should have stricter speed limits. Comment now