Powered Scooter Accident Statistics
- Powered scooters, equipped with either a
small motor or an electric battery, are
gaining popularity in the U.S., with a
parallel increase in associated injuries.
According to a US Consumer Product Safety
Commission Special Study on powered scooters
conducted over a one year period between
2003 and 2004, 10,015 emergency room-treated
injuries were related to powered scooters.
There were an estimated 23,472
medically-treated injuries over the same
time period, including injuries treated in
other settings such as a doctor’s office or
medical clinic. This represents the
first time period for which reliable data is
available. The cost to society of
these injuries is estimated at $500 million.
- Of the emergency room injuries, over two
thirds of the injured were aged 15 or under.
The average (mean) victim age was 18.
Over 60% were male. The most
frequently sustained injuries, 49.7%, were
contusions, lacerations, abrasions, or
hematomas. Fractures were also common,
making up 25.5% of injuries. The head and
neck were the areas most frequently injured,
accounting for roughly a third of injuries.
Hospitalization was required for 5.1% of
injuries.
- More injuries were caused by
gasoline-powered scooters (55.3%) than by
electric models (37.3%). Analysis of
economic data indicates that sales of
gas-powered and electric scooters in 2003
were approximately equal.
- Most of the scooters involved in
injuries, 86.1%, were being used primarily
for fun and play. Only 8.9% were being
used primarily for transportation, and this
use was more common among riders 15 and
older.
- In most cases, the injured person was
the rider of the scooter. Fewer than
half of victims, 42.2%, were wearing a
helmet at the time of the accident.
Victims under the age of 15 were slightly
more likely to have worn a helmet than older
riders. Few riders were wearing other
protection such as knee, wrist or elbow
pads.
- Scooters involved in injuries tended to
have been recently purchased, with an
average age of 3.6 months. In over
half of the injuries, the scooter’s owner
was someone other than the victim, usually a
friend or relative.
- Situations in which the operator
contributed to the accident (the operator
fell off, lost control, etc.) accounted for
35.9% of injuries. Environmental
contributors such as bumps, potholes, and
gravel accounted for another 35.1% of
injuries. In 19.6% of injuries, the
scooter itself contributed to the accident,
due to mechanical problems, broken parts,
tire blowouts, etc. The Consumer
Product Safety Commission considers the
proportion of injuries in which the product
directly contributed to the injury to be
high compared to other similar products.
- There were 49 deaths involving power
scooters reported between October 1998 and
November 2004. All of the victims were
the riders of the scooters.
Twenty-nine fatalities involved a collision
with a motor vehicle. Twelve of the
fatalities resulted from a fall from the
scooter. Drugs or alcohol were
determined to be involved in three deaths.
Source:
US Consumer Product Safety Commission
http://www.cpsc.gov/library/foia/foia05/os/scooter.pdf
