North Carolina is one of the states across the nation where electric scooters have become the hottest trend. While they are a popular way to navigate busy locales, it is not all fun and games. If you use e-scooters or you are thinking about using them, there are risks you must be aware of.
According to Forbes, injuries resulting from e-scooter accidents are on the rise. Generally speaking, there is not a lot of official data available because tracking e-scooter related injuries is fairly new. However, the University of California in Los Angeles conducted a study identifying 249 e-scooter riders who incurred physical trauma between September 2017 and August 2018. The findings were later published in JAMA Network Open. The study reveals the dangers of motorized scooters, especially among inexperienced riders.
The riders listed in the study received emergency medical care as a result of electric scooter accidents. The UCLA study details the most common types of bodily harm. One of the most notable statistics is that 4.4% of the riders did not wear helmets. Head trauma made up 31.7% of the injuries. Additionally, 47% of the riders suffered bone fractures. The impairments were the result of falls, collisions with objects or collisions with moving vehicles.
You can travel up to 25 miles per hour on these scooters. As with any type of vehicle, you need to exercise caution and practice good traffic safety measures. This is especially the case with e-scooters where the combination of inexperience and not wearing a helmet makes you vulnerable to near-fatal accidents.
This information is only intended to educate and it is not legal advice.