E-scooter injuries on rise amid calls to make helmets mandatory
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Medical researchers have called on legislators to reconsider introducing mandatory helmet wearing for users of e-scooters after a study found fewer than one in 10 individuals who attended hospital following a fall or collision involving the devices was wearing protective headgear.
Research by doctors at Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown in Dublin claims injuries from e-scooters are a key and growing contributor to the number of patients attending its emergency department.
The study revealed that there has been almost a fourfold increase in the number of people attending the hospital with e-scooter-related injuries since 2020.
It found 22 individuals who had suffered trauma from an incident with an e-scooter had attended CHB’s emergency department between June 2019 and July 2020.
However, the numbers attending the hospital for the same type of injury over a similar 13-month period ending in July 2024 had climbed to 76.
The latest figures show just 8% of patients with an injury involving an e-scooter were wearing a helmet at the time of the accident — down from 40% in the previous study.
They also showed that 24% of patients required admission to the hospital with an average length of stay of 4.2 days, with 17% requiring some form of surgery.
The survey revealed that 45% of all those with e-scooter-related injuries suffered a fracture or dislocation — the majority of which related to bones in the upper limb followed by the lower limb, head and neck.
It found 40% of fractures had a comminuted pattern which meant the bone was broken in two or more places or had shattered.
Such injuries have long-term consequences for patients in terms of fracture healing, post-traumatic arthritis and functional impairment.
One person sustained a subdural haemorrhage around the brain which required admission for observation, while another injured party required three separate surgical procedures.
Overall, 44% of those with injuries required referral to orthopaedic services while only 25% were discharged home directly from CHB’s emergency department.
According to the latest figures, three-quarters of all those attending CHB with injuries from falls or collisions with e-scooters were males.
The average age of patients was 31 years, with two-thirds in the 18-35 age group.
More than four in 10 of those with e-scooter-related injuries were non-Irish nationals.
The study, whose results are published in the Irish Journal of Medical Research, observed that e-scooters were relatively new to Ireland when it carried out its first survey on related injuries in 2021.
However, it said the use of the devices had increased significantly in recent years due to their accessibility and affordability, while the number of injuries from falls and collisions had increased exponentially.
Researchers noted that the use of e-scooters in the Republic was legalised in May 2024 with use of the devices restricted to those aged 16 and over and to speed limits of 20km/h.
The study noted that five patients were travelling over 30km/h at the time of receiving their injury.
One of the study’s main authors, Aoife O’Halloran, said e-scooters were becoming a primary source of transport for many as Ireland was growing in multi-cultural diversity and the cost of owning and running a car was increasing exponentially.
Dr O’Halloran — an orthopaedic surgery registrar at CHB — observed that such a trend was reflected in the high proportion of patients who were non-Irish nationals. She added:
Dr O’Halloran noted that 78% of patients needed some other form of radiographic imaging with 40% having three or more body regions imaged, while 29% needed further investigation with a CT scan.
“This not only increases radiation exposure for patients, but has large cost effects on the health service,” she remarked.
The registrar said the findings in relation to hospital admissions and length of stay also had huge cost consequences for the healthcare system.
Commenting on the sharp decrease in the use of protective helmets by usersof e-scooters, Dr O’Halloran said the uptake was poor with the wearing of helmets left to the discretion of the rider.
While the majority of injuries from using e-scooters involve the upper limb, she said 13% of injuries were still to the head and face. Dr O’Halloran said:
The study observed that Ireland’s first shared e-scooter scheme was launched in Wexford in August at a time when many cities including Paris, Melbourne, and Madrid were now banning or suspending e-scooter rental schemes as their dangers and associated accidents were becoming apparent.
“Addressing safety concerns regarding e-scooters and the ability to rent the vehicles should be reviewed before resulting morbidity and mortality continue to rise,” said Dr O’Halloran.