RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Injury patterns and circumstances associated with electric scooter collisions: a scoping review
JF Injury Prevention
JO Inj Prev
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd
SP injuryprev-2020-044085
DO 10.1136/injuryprev-2020-044085
A1 Manish Toofany
A1 Sasha Mohsenian
A1 Leona K Shum
A1 Herbert Chan
A1 Jeffrey R Brubacher
YR 2021
UL http://injuryprevention.bmj.com/content/early/2021/03/10/injuryprev-2020-044085.abstract
AB Background Electric scooters are personal mobility devices that have risen in popularity worldwide since 2017. Emerging reports suggest that both riders and other road users, such as pedestrians and cyclists, have been injured in electric scooter-associated incidents. We undertook a scoping review of the current literature to evaluate the injury patterns and circumstances of electric scooter-associated injuries.Methods A scoping review of literature published from 2010 to 2020 was undertaken following accepted guidelines. Relevant articles were identified in Medline, Embase, SafetyLit and Transport Research International Documentation using terms related to electric scooters, injuries and incident circumstances. Supplemental searches were conducted to identify relevant grey literature (non-peer-reviewed reports).Results Twenty-eight peer-reviewed studies and nine grey literature records were included in the review. The current literature surrounding electric scooter-associated injuries mainly comprises retrospective case series reporting clinical variables. Factors relating to injury circumstances are inconsistently reported. Findings suggest that the head, upper extremities and lower extremities are particularly vulnerable in electric scooter falls or collisions, while injuries to the chest and abdomen are less common. Injury severity was inconsistently reported, but most reported injuries were minor. Low rates of helmet use among electric scooter users were noted in several studies.Conclusion Electric scooters leave riders vulnerable to traumatic injuries of varying severity. Future work should prospectively collect standardised data that include information on the context of the injury event and key clinical variables. Research on interventions to prevent electric scooter injuries is also needed to address this growing area of concern.