From broken bones to burns, injuries involving e-bikes, e-scooters increasing
The devices were involved in 360,800 emergency room visits since 2017
GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) - More kids are ending up in the emergency room because of electric bikes and scooters.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission says there’s a spike in E.R. visits related to what are called micro-mobility devices. They include scooters, bikes, and hoverboards.
This report says fractures, cuts, burns and other injuries from micromobility devices have been increasing by an average 23% each year since 2017. Last year, e-bike and e-scooter injuries surged more than 20% last year. Notably, hoverboard injuries decreased 26% from 2021 to 2022.
Broken bones were the most common injuries in the 360,800 micromobility-related E.R. visits since 2017, followed by scrapes and cuts.
More than a third of the injuries during that 6-year period involved kids 14 and younger.
Officials say there were at least 233 deaths across the country tied to these products in that timeframe, including 19 deaths from fires linked to the devices. The CPSC says the real numbers are probably even higher, because they’re still looking into this and gathering information.
Among their recommendations:
- Always wear a bicycle helmet to protect your head in case of a fall
- Expect motorists and pedestrians don’t see you
- Don’t make abrupt, unpredictable movements
- Never charge these devices while sleeping, and only use the supplied charger
- Follow all manufacturer directions and review the safety information, weight and age limits for the devices
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