You’re more likely to injure yourself — and others — with an electric scooter or e-bike than with a motorcycle or car. That’s according to a new study released by UCLA reported in Electrek. Researchers sought to discover more about the safety of these lightweight personal vehicles that have gained in popularity over recent years.
The study reviewed records from January 2014 to May 2020 from 180 UCLA outpatient clinics, UCLA Health emergency departments and urgent care centers. Covering some 36 million medical notes, this was the first study of its kind in a large metropolitan area with widespread e-scooter use.
Personal vehicles such as e-scooters and e-bikes accounted for the majority of injuries, which included not only the riders but bystanders who were hit. The study found 1,354 injuries related to electric scooters which translated to 115 injuries for every one million rides. By comparison, motorcycle injuries were at 104 per million rides; bicycles were at 15, and cars at 8 per million rides. Pedestrian injuries were at just 2 for every one million trips.
Of those injured in electric scooter accidents in the study, 29% required advanced imaging, 6% required admission into a hospital, and two died. The researchers concluded that “E-scooters are associated with injury rates more akin to motorcycles than pedal-driven bicycles.” They noted that their e-scooter injury rate may be conservative in that they didn’t capture data from other health systems or include injuries that caused temporary or permanent disability, but which were never presented for care.
If you or a loved one has been injured by a personal electric vehicle or motorcycle, you may wish to discuss the details of the incident with a top Pennsylvania motorcycle accident attorney. Please reach out to us.