The injury rate of e-bikes and motorized scooters increased between 2019 and 2022 – by 293 percent and 88 percent, respectively, according to a new study from Columbia University.
“Our results highlight the urgent need to improve injury surveillance and to identify strategies for cities to improve the safety of micromobility users,” said Dr. Catherine Barford, an author of the study at Columbia. “Understanding how injury types and risk factors vary by mode of use can help inform emergency services organization and strategies and policies to promote the safe use of micromobility.”
Using data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) for the period 2019 to 2022, researchers were able to define vehicle-related injuries in the micromobility category. The researchers compared patterns and trends for 1,933,296 estimated injuries associated with e-bikes, bicycles, hoverboards and motorized scooters. The NEISS samples 96 hospitals in the US.
Of the total of 48,857,022 injuries that resulted in emergency room visits between 2019 and 2022, there were 1,933,296 estimated injuries in micromobility accidents. Of these, the majority are injuries on bicycles – 33.2 injuries per 1000 total injuries in the emergency room. Motor scooter injuries were 3.4 cases per 1000. E-bike injuries reported in the emergency room were 1.2 and hoverboard injuries were 1.8 per 1000 cases.
Of all estimated hoverboard injuries, 76 percent were among people under the age of 18 compared to 14.5 percent of e-bike injuries and 16 percent of electric scooter injuries.
In contrast, 57 percent of motor scooter injuries, 49 percent of electric bicycle injuries, and 31 percent of bicycle injuries were among 18- to 44-year-olds.
Among older adults (65-84 years), the highest proportion of micromobility injuries were bicycle-related, followed by e-bike-related injuries.
