Emergency doctors are warning of the increase in serious injuries due to the use of scooters. Their use as a means of getting around towns and cities has experienced a boom in recent years, as they have become one of the most popular personal mobility vehicles (VMP) on the streets.
However, their use carries risks that most users are not aware of, making scooter accidents increasingly common, accidents that in some cases can have serious or fatal consequences for those involved.
The Directors of the Emergency services of the Region of Murcia are now warning of the increase in serious accidents involving scooters, causing their riders to end up in the hospital with serious trauma that often leads to surgery.
One of those directly involved is Dr. Pascual Piñera, head of the Emergency Department at the Reina Sofía Hospital in Murcia, who acknowledges that there has been an increase in injuries caused by the use of scooters, to the point that “we are now treating more serious head injuries from the use of scooters than from any other vehicle,” he says.
As for the patients arriving at the hospital Accident and Emergency Department, for this reason, Dr. Piñera says that “they are users of all ages” and although it is true that many are young people, he acknowledges that many are over 50 years of age.
Due to collisions of scooters with bikes and cars, activity has increased in the Emergency Department, and also in the traumatology, neurosurgery, maxillofacial and ENT specialties, explains Dr. Diego Teruel, head of the Emergency Department at the Virgen de la Arrixaca Hospital .
“There are also many serious head injuries that require the patient to undergo neurosurgery, as well as broken jaws and noses due to blows to the face,” says Dr. Teruel.
He said that the Arrixaca Emergency medical staff have seen a 40% increase in this type of case due to pathologies that until now hardly existed.
“In the case of scooters, we must realise that the chassis is the drivers’ own body and the blow is taken by them,” he added.
It would seem that everyone is in agreement, the use of scooters requires stricter legislation. Currently the use of a helmet is not mandatory, it is only recommended in those places that lack a specific ordinance, as is the case of the municipality of Murcia, which has not yet drafted any legislation on the matter. For this reason, the A&E specialists agree that one of the solutions involves establishing the mandatory use of a helmet when using such mobility vehicles, which would at least reduce the severity of the injuries, as is the case with injuries incurred by riders of motorcycles and bicycles.
The latest study published by the Mapfre Foundation and the Mapfre Centre for Experimentation and Road Safety (Cesvimap), in 2021, 13 people lost their lives in Spain due to accidents with electric scooters , a number that is increasing, as a year earlier, in 2020, 6 deaths were recorded, and five deaths in 2019.
