Notice: This article’s statistics arrive from third-celebration sources and do not represent the viewpoints of this web site.
The electric scooter, or e-scooter, has surged in popularity particularly in large metropolitan areas, in which they supply a comparatively effortless and handy implies of steering clear of visitors and obtaining from one particular location to another swiftly. They are also well-known on university campuses and are even offered by some employers to their employees on huge internet sites. Various states and cities of the US have distinct policies pertaining to the use of these and other so-known as micromobility vehicles, and, in some instances, the guidelines are limited to keep away from mishaps and to assuage community fears of becoming hit by scooters that can zip alongside at 20mph or more.
Underneath, you will uncover 15 statistics related to e-scooters, such as knowledge on accidents and the varieties of injuries that electric scooters can lead to.
Top 15 Electric Scooter Accident Statistics
- The first electric scooter was invented in 1918
- The Peugeot Scoot’Elec was the first mass produced electric scooter and launched in 1996
- 85,000 e-scooters are available for public use in 100 US cities as part of shared micromobility services
- 70% of city residents view e-scooters positively
- Less than 5% of electric scooter riders wear a helmet
- 80% of electric scooter fatalities involved a car
- 80% of electric scooter accidents are falls
- In 2018, there were 19 electric scooter injuries per 100,000 US citizens
- 20 people are injured for every 100,000 e-scooter users
- There are 2.2 accidents per 10,000 e-scooter miles
- 40,000 e-scooter injuries were treated in emergency departments between 2014 and 2018
- Approximately half of e-scooter injuries are serious
- There 25,400 visits to emergency departments in 2020 resulting from e-scooter accidents
- There were 71 fatalities of micromobility riders between 2017 and 2020, including e-bikes, hoverboards, and e-scooters
- The most common injuries are to the upper and lower limbs, head, and neck
Electric Scooters
1. The first electric scooter was invented in 1918
(On the internet Bicycle Museum)
Even though they acquired popularity in the 1990s and 2000s, electric scooters are nothing at all new. The motoped was introduced in 1915 and had a little motorbike motor mounted more than the front wheel of a modified child’s scooter. The 4-stroke motor could attain speeds of up to 30mph, but this was more a definite fuel motor.
In 1918, however, Eveready bought into the firm accountable, and a battery and coil ended up equipped to the motor. Despite the fact that it did nonetheless rely on a fuel engine, it was arguably the forerunner to today’s e-scooters. Nevertheless, it was not especially popular with each day citizens and was utilised mainly by postmen and New York gang members: the latter appreciated its capability to quickly nip down alleyways and absent from the police.
2. The Peugeot Scoot’Elec was the first mass produced electric scooter and launched in 1996
(Auto Handles)
The Scoot’Elec lays declare to becoming the very first mass made electrical scooter. It was created by Peugeot in 1996 and it used nickel cadmium batteries that gave it a best speed of 31mph and a variety of 29 miles. Though the scooter was mass developed, it was also large, and its cadmium batteries intended that it did not have the environmentally helpful credentials of its successors.
3. 85,000 e-scooters are available for public use in 100 US cities as part of shared micromobility services
(NACTO)
Despite the fact that Peugeot created the 1st mass-produced e-scooters in the nineteen nineties, it wasn’t till 2009 that the modern iteration of the scooter was observed. Inokim launched a lithium-ion battery run scooter. Lithium-ion batteries offered the capacity to demand at home and had been a lot lighter.
This new style of light-weight and affordable e-scooter has turn into really popular, and as nicely as currently being ready to buy an electric scooter for a couple of hundred dollars, men and women can also employ the service of them from micromobility solutions in a lot of main metropolitan areas.
Uber and Lime, two well-known ride sharing businesses, offer you e-scooter and e-bike rentals, for illustration, and there are estimated to be 85,000 of these personalized mobility products available for rental in a hundred cities throughout the US.
4. 70% of city residents view e-scooters positively
(Statista)
Although there have been some concerns over the safety of scooter customers themselves, as properly as pedestrians and other street end users, surveys suggest that e-scooters are considered positively. In reality, 70% of individuals that stay in towns say that they see them as currently being constructive.
Accident Types and Causes
5. Less than 5% of electric scooter riders wear a helmet
(JAMA Network)
There are issues more than protection, and most manufacturers and rental firms advise that all users wear security helmets. Although regulations fluctuate from point out to condition and metropolis to city, a lot of areas of the US do not call for that riders more than the age of 21 have to put on a helmet when using one of these gadgets.
As a outcome of this, four.4% of electric powered scooter riders put on a helmet. This reluctance to use a helmet has contributed to the reality that head injuries are the single most frequent harm type, accounting for 40% of people that report to unexpected emergency departments adhering to an e-scooter incident.
6. 80% of electric scooter fatalities involved a car
(The Dialogue)
Scooter fatalities are luckily unusual with approximately thirty this sort of deaths occurring amongst 2018 and 2021. Even so, no subject how nippy and hassle-free e-scooters are, they do not offer the same level of protection as autos or other motorized autos. In 80% of the recorded fatalities, the mishaps them selves associated a auto.
Surprisingly, the vast majority of mishaps transpired during the working day and eighty% of mishaps in between cars and electric powered scooters occurred at intersections with most occurring when the scooter approached from the driver’s correct aspect.
7. 80% of electric scooter accidents are falls
(JAMA Community)
A few main kinds of e-scooter have been discovered. These are incidents the place the scooter is hit by a motor vehicle or relocating item, collisions with stationary objects, and falls. eighty% of e-scooter incidents were recorded as falls even though 11% had been collisions with other objects, and nine% associated the scooter being strike by a transferring object or motor vehicle.
Accident Statistics
8. In 2018, there were 19 electric scooter injuries per 100,000 US citizens
(Statista)
Probably unsurprisingly, presented the latest surge in the quantity of electrical scooters and e-scooter companies, there has been a important increase in the number of scooter accidents in the US. In 2014, there have been just in excess of 4,five hundred injuries documented for the duration of the yr.
In the course of 2018, there have been in excess of fourteen,five hundred: a much more than 220% boost in just four a long time. There ended up 19 injuries to electric powered scooter riders for every a hundred,000 US citizens.
9. 20 people are injured for every 100,000 e-scooter users
(CDC)
A single examine by the CDC located that, in Austin, Texas, the charge was equivalent to twenty accidents for every single 100,000 e-scooter consumers. 18- to 29-calendar year-olds had been the age group most most likely to endure injuries, even though this is also the age group that most often use e-scooters.
10. There are 2.2 accidents per 10,000 e-scooter miles
(Batta Fulkerson)
A typical way to appear incident prices for motor vehicle consumers is the variety of incidents for each mile, or for every ten,000 miles. Cars encounter .1 mishaps for every ten,000 miles, even though motorcycles endure .05 accidents for each ten,000 miles. Electrical scooters have an accident rate of two.2 for each 10,000 miles, which is significantly larger than each.
11. 40,000 e-scooter injuries were treated in emergency departments between 2014 and 2018
(JAMA Network)
Not all electrical scooter incidents direct to hospitalization or even healthcare facility visits and numerous small incidents are probably unreported. Nevertheless, between 2014 and 2018, there have been a complete of forty,000 e-scooter accidents handled in crisis departments and hospitals throughout the region with most happening in riders aged among eighteen and 34.
Injuries
12. Approximately half of e-scooter injuries are severe
(Batta Fulkerson)
It is difficult to get specific figures of the number of men and women hurt and the severity of injuries suffered, but according to figures from a handful of major hospitals, about one fifty percent of all accidents that are experienced in the course of e-scooter incidents are regarded significant. Significant injuries consist of fractured bones and organ damage.
13. There 25,400 visits to emergency departments in 2020 resulting from e-scooter accidents
(CPSC)
Electrical scooters are provided in a group of merchandise known as micromobility merchandise. This consists of e-bikes and hoverboards, as nicely as e-scooters. Among 2017 and 2020, micromobility merchandise led to 190,000 unexpected emergency section visits. Exclusively for e-scooters, there had been 7,700 ED visits in 2017, 14,five hundred in 2018, 27,seven-hundred in 2019, and twenty five,400 in 2020.
The 2020 fall in incidents is very likely attributed to people staying at home during the Covid pandemic. Less men and women went to perform, outlets were closed, and there were fewer opportunities for folks to use these devices. Figures could increase once more as the United states reopens its doors and individuals return to work.
14. There were 71 fatalities of micromobility riders between 2017 and 2020, including e-bikes, hoverboards, and e-scooters
(CPSC)
Having into account all forms of micromobility vehicle, there have been 71 complete fatalities amongst 2017 and 2020, though the actual figure may be higher as some accidents may possibly not have been reported as involving these varieties of solution.
15. The most common injuries are to the upper and lower limbs, head, and neck
(CPSC)
No matter whether the accident was brought on by a slide, collision with a car, or any other variety of accident, the most frequent injuries transpired to the head, neck, upper limbs, and decrease limbs. Experts recommend that riders constantly use a helmet, but helmets are not normally produced obtainable when utilizing a journey fall-off plan.
In the same way, riders are recommended to check out the worthiness and the situation of the scooter ahead of using it, for that reason ensuring that it is risk-free for use. It is also suggested that individuals do not drink or experience electric powered scooters beneath the affect of drugs, and that they do not use mobile telephones or other cellular products.
Frequently Asked Questions About Electric Scooter Accidents
How Many People Have Died From Electric Scooters?
There are no actual e-scooter fatality figures introduced but at minimum 29 individuals died in between 2018 and 2020, as a outcome of e-scooter accidents. This determine includes electric scooter riders on their own, as properly as pedestrians and other vehicle users. The majority of electric powered scooter rider fatalities concerned cars and other cars.
Has Anyone Been Killed On An Electric Scooter?
Dozens of individuals have died following accidents even though on electric scooters. The precise number is mysterious because several of the deaths are basically recorded as accidental fatalities and the specific particulars may possibly not be mentioned. It is believed that the 1st man or woman to die in a fatal electric scooter crash was Jacoby Stoneking.
The demise, which occurred in September 2018, was ruled an accident, and there was no indication of him getting strike by one more car. Stoneking originally survived the incident and requested a pal to phone a elevate for him but was identified unconscious and unresponsive. (Washington Post)
How Common Are Scooter Accidents?
It is believed that for every a hundred,000 excursions taken on an e-scooter, there will be twenty people wounded. These figures only contemplate accidents that call for hospital remedy, however, so the true variety of incidents is very likely to be considerably higher when it includes accidents with small injuries. (CDC)
Are E-Scooters Legal?
Electric scooters are lawful in the US but there are regulations that govern their use, and these are set at point out degree.
In New York Town, for case in point, an e-scooter is deemed to have handlebars and a ground or seat. They are not able to be ridden at speeds in excess of 15mph and as well as currently being permitted to experience these cars in bicycle lanes, it is also lawful to experience them on streets that have a optimum velocity restrict of 30mph or lower. They ought to not be ridden on sidewalks and, although advisable for sixteen- and 17-12 months-olds, helmets are not lawfully necessary for electric scooter consumers. (New York Town DOT)
The rules and rules do alter according to location, nonetheless, and it is the rider’s obligation to know and adhere to people rules when they borrow or experience a single of these automobiles.
Conclusion
Electric powered scooters, or e-scooters, are using metropolitan areas by storm. They are effortless to operate, lightweight, and environmentally welcoming. Riders are not beholden to fuel firm rates and several significant cities previously have or are preparing to enable ride-sharing organizations like Uber to install dock-cost-free gadgets that can be dropped off everywhere.
Nonetheless, whilst these micromobility vehicles are light-weight and practical, they do nonetheless pose anything of a threat for their end users as nicely as for pedestrians and other street users. Riders must check nearby legal guidelines to make certain that they trip lawfully, are advised to wear a helmet, and ought to examine the situation of the scooter just before they get on and ride, to keep away from mishaps. Mishaps most typically occur during the working day, at intersections, and most deadly mishaps entail a auto or other motorized car, even though slipping and hitting stationary objects are two other typical sorts of e-scooter accident.
Featured Impression Credit score: Andrey_Popov, Shuterstock
Contents