Trauma analysis finds brain injuries more common among e-scooter riders than motorcyclists

E-scooter riders in England and Wales may face a higher risk of brain and internal organ injuries than motorcyclists and cyclists, according to a study published in Scientific Reports. The authors recommend increasing e-scooter safety through measures including mandatory helmet legislation, stricter speed limits and e-scooter design improvements such as deformable handlebar grips and enhanced braking.

E-scooters are used in urban areas throughout the world, but reliable data on injuries and risks have been limited. David Bodansky and colleagues analyzed data from the National Major Trauma Registry for 15,247 patients—including 580 e-scooter riders, 7,027 motorcyclists and 7,640 pedal cyclists—with moderate-to-severe traumatic injuries from 18 cities in England and Wales between 2020 and 2022. Of e-scooter riders, 87.9% were adults.

They found that adult e-scooter riders had a 3.5 times higher risk of traumatic brain injury, a 1.5 times higher risk of internal organ injury and a 3.2 times higher risk of artery or vein injury than motorcyclists. These risks were also 1.7, 1.4 and 1.7 times higher, respectively, compared with pedal cyclists. However, the fracture risk for adult e-scooter riders was 20.0% lower than for motorcyclists and 10.0% lower than for pedal cyclists.

Helmet use was documented in only 5.9% of e-scooter riders, compared with 75.7% of motorcyclists and 45.0% of pedal cyclists. The authors suggest that this could increase brain injury risk among e-scooter riders, as could e-scooter design, which may increase the risk of riders falling headfirst over handlebars during collisions.

Additional analysis of 23,193 self-reported e-scooter collisions and near misses found that male riders had a 36% lower collision risk than female riders and that female riders were 2.1 times more likely to report severe injuries. The authors propose that this could be because most e-scooters are designed for male body proportions and because previous findings show female riders are more likely to ride on sidewalks and unpaved surfaces.

The authors speculate that multiple factors may influence the injury risk of e-scooter riders, including helmet use, e-scooter design, urban infrastructure and rider behavior. They recommend further research to investigate these factors and the effectiveness of potential interventions to increase e-scooter safety.

Provided by
Morriston Hospital, UK

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