Nearly 500 children injured by e-scooters since 2019, study in England shows

Nearly 500 children have been injured by e-scooters since 2019, with less than 2% reportedly wearing a helmet and an average age of just 12, according to a three-center study in England published online in Emergency Medicine Journal.

Clearer public health messaging and a review of government legislation are urgently needed in light of the findings, the researchers say.

E-scooters have become an increasingly popular form of transportation worldwide because they are cheap, fast and convenient. In July 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the UK government launched e-scooter rental trials in England, which are due to be completed in 2028, the researchers explain.

Since 2019, e-scooters have been involved in 59 reported deaths in the UK, where riding privately owned e-scooters is illegal unless on private land and with the owner’s permission, they add.

But unlike rental use, which isn’t legally permitted until at least age 16, private use is unregulated, they point out.

While these vehicles are designed for adults, they are often used by children and teens, who are likely to be novice road users and take more risks, the researchers say, prompting them to try to gauge the number and severity of injuries involving e-scooters in this age group.

They focused on emergency care data spanning January 2019 to December 2024 from three children’s major trauma centers in Liverpool, Manchester and Sheffield. Liverpool and Manchester are part of the government’s e-scooter rental pilot; Sheffield isn’t.

Between 2019 and 2024, the trauma centers treated 477 patients with e-scooter injuries, with the overall number of cases rising from fewer than 10 in 2019 to nearly 150 in 2024.

The average age of the injured children was 12; half were ages 10 to 13. Nearly two-thirds (64.5%) were boys.

Most injuries (95%) were sustained by the rider, and 80% of all incidents involved a private e-scooter.

The most common cause was a fall from an e-scooter (75%), but nearly 11.5% were caused by a collision with a vehicle; 5% involved pedestrians hit by an e-scooter.

More than half (52%) of the incidents happened on public land: Nearly 1 in 4 (22%) occurred on public roads, and nearly 1 in 3 (30%) occurred on public sidewalks or in parks.

Injuries to the arms and legs were the most common (36%-40%), but around 1 in 4 (24%) were head injuries and nearly 1 in 5 (18.5%) were facial injuries.

Less than 2% of riders were reported to be wearing a helmet at the time of the incident. And 1 in 10 head injuries were sufficiently severe to warrant imaging, hospital admission and, in some cases, surgery.

Among the most seriously injured, around half (48%) were injured in a collision with a car or stationary object.

Overall, the level of hospital care required was substantial: Nearly two-thirds of the injured children (64.5%) required some form of imaging (X-rays, computed tomography or ultrasound scans); 13.5% were admitted; and 7% required surgery.

Three out of 4 injured children (74%) lived in areas of greatest social and economic disadvantage.

The researchers acknowledge that their study was based on data from only 3 children’s trauma centers, so the findings might not be more widely applicable. But they suggest that because a software change limited data collection to 2023–24 at the trauma center in Manchester, the actual number of e-scooter injuries may be higher than reported.

“Clearly, reporting these accidents is important to influence and change policy, but there must also be an onus on retailers to clearly advise customers of the law and policymakers to regulate private e-scooters, such as with speed limiters or mandated helmet use,” the researchers write.

“As well as legislative changes, schools, local councils, youth groups and road safety campaigns could all have a role in helping to reduce the burden of this emerging public health challenge. Utilizing approaches like educational campaigns, such as bicycle safety schemes targeted to e-scooter riders, could be beneficial and have been shown to improve riders’ safety behavior,” they suggest.

“We urgently need to increase public and clinician awareness, have clearer public health messaging and review government legislation to prevent further injuries and deaths,” they conclude.

Who’s behind this story?

Sadie Harley

BSc Life Sciences & Ecology. Microbiology lab background with pharmaceutical news experience in oil, gas, and renewable industries.

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Alexander Pol

PhD nano-engineering from Delft University. Published researcher and journal reviewer. Brings scientific insight to content standards.

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