E-scooter injuries, data shows when growing in Canada

According to new Canadian data, scooters and e-scooters have been admitted to hospitals related to injuries, as emergency doctors warned that there are no two-wheelers toys.

The Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) said on Thursday that around 1,000 people Were hospitalized For scooter related injuries during a period of April 1, 2023 to 12 months. It is above 810 during the same period of 2022–23.

Half of the injuries belonged to-498-Motor-powered e-scooters, 375 hospitals recorded in 2022-23.

Tanya Khan, manager of CIHI of the advancement of hospital data in Montreal and engagement, said, “Some unknown injuries are really approximate and stopping, especially in relation to e-scooter injuries,”

Emergency physicians say that the range of injuries may be severe: brain, face and dental trauma, fractures required by many surgery, or Painful brain injuries This requires intensive care.

Some injuries occur when the rider collides with a car, but also doctors Cure people Who are in the grip of a rider.

Back in 2020, Toronto’s Hospital for Sickkids saw a single e-scooter injury. By 2024, this number was 46.

Rapid speed on unstable devices

Daniel Rousenfield, a pediatric emergency physician at Sikkids, said the hospital saw 16 scooters related injuries alone compared to three or less during the same month in the last years.

Rosenfield stated that injuries may range from bumps and fractures to life -changing head injuries and internal bleeding that require the entire trauma team or intensive care.

Rosenfield said, “This can be anything from only one or two surgery to complete recovery, rehabilitation hospitals for lifetime injuries and completely of neurological devastation,” Rosenfield said.

Given what he had seen, Rosenfield inspired parents not to buy an e-scooter for children. “They are not toys.”

Rosenfield said that people need physical maturity to operate an e-scooter.

“From an emotional and cognitive point of view – where you just have the ability to understand where your body is in space, how you can bend, what is forward and what is not – (it) is similar to driving a car.”

He said that e-scooters can go to zero to 40 km/h second, and many parents are not aware of it, they said.

In Sickkids, about 90 percent of e-scooter injuries are among adolescent boys. Most of them did not wear helmets.

In the rate of hospital injury, children between the ages of four to six years were riding with parents or elder brother -in -law.

“If you have speed plus head injury, a helmet will help reduce those injuries every time,” he said.

Pamela Fusseli, president and CEO of a parachute of an injury prevention charity, said that micro-mobility devices such as e-scooters have small wheels and are unstable when riding.

“Emergent comes to play,” Foselli said. “Take some time to find out how to use these devices.”

She says that all users should wear helmets, follow road rules, including speed and liquor limits, and other road users.

Given that the provincial and municipal laws and rules vary throughout Canada when using e-scooters, Fussley said it is important to pursue enforcement to prevent injuries.