An examination of electric-scooter related injuries in one U.S. city found that while injuries are rare, nearly half of all hurt riders suffered a head injury that “may have been preventable” if riders had been wearing a helmet at the time.

The Centers for Disease Control and Austin Public Health Department released a study Thursday examining e-scooter injuries in that city from Sept. 5 through Nov. 30 of last year. The report documented 190 injured scooter riders during that period (160 confirmed to be riding scooters at the time and 32 probable cases). The prevalence during that period equates to roughly 20 injuries per 100,000 trips taken on the dockless transportation device.

According to the first-of-its-kind analysis from the CDC of scooter injuries, all but one of the injured riders was not wearing a helmet.

“Studies have shown that bicycle riders reduce the risk of head and brain injuries by wearing a helmet,” the report’s authors said. “Helmet use might also reduce the risk of head and brain injuries in the event of an e-scooter crash.”

The report comes as Portland’s second foray into the e-scooter transportation craze wraps up its first week. City transportation officials welcomed scooters back to Portland streets last Friday, this time for a 12-month period compared to a four-month trial in 2018.

Helmets are required to operate an e-scooter in Oregon, but the city has focused much of its regulatory interest in directing scooter companies to penalize riders for operating on sidewalks or in public parks. The city’s press release on the device’s return last week doesn’t include the word helmet. Sidewalk riding and helmet issues were the top complaints lodged with the city during the 2018 pilot project.

Ryan McConaghy, executive director of a group called the Micromobility Coalition, which represents e-scooter companies, told The Washington Post that the industry welcomed the CDC’s report and the focus on safety. But McConaghy said scooter users experience injury rates on part with bicyclists and far lower to the rate of motorists.

“Like using a bike, motorcycle, or car, there is risk in operating a personal transportation vehicle,” McConaghy told the Post. “Car drivers face this risk every day — whether it is the risk of human error, collision with another commuter or poor conditions on the roads.”

According to the National Safety Council, a nonprofit focused on eliminating preventable deaths, more than 40,000 people died in traffic crashes in 2017. The death rate equates to 12.35 per 100,000 people, according to the nonprofit. Some 4.6 million people were injured enough in a car crash in 2017 that they sought medical consultation.

While serious scooter injuries are rare, the Austin-centric report’s authors said their analysis “likely underestimates the prevalence” of scooter-related injuries. But the researchers focused on investigating injuries that ended in a visit to a hospital emergency room or where riders were treated by emergency medical providers.

The bulk of seriously injured riders in Austin were new to scooter riding, with 63% saying they had ridden a device nine times or fewer before the injury. One-third of riders were injured the first time riding a scooter, the report found.

During the period examined by public health experts, just two people who weren’t riding a scooter were struck and injured to the point of needing emergency care (one cyclist, one pedestrian).

Some other findings:

15%: experience traumatic brain injury

37%: of riders say they were going too fast on the scooters at the time of the crash

24%: Were traveling downhill when injured

16%: Were injured when colliding with or swerving to avoid a car or trip

55%: Were injured in the street

33% were injured on a sidewalk.

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-- Andrew Theen

atheen@oregonian.com

503-294-4026

@andrewtheen

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