As e-scooter use grows, ER doctors say they’re seeing ‘devastating’ injuries

Hitting nan streets from Vancouver’s westbound seashore to Nova Scotia’s eastbound shores, electric scooters are zooming into Canadian cities, embraced arsenic a convenient and eco-friendly mode of transportation.

However, this newfound fame comes pinch increasing information concerns, arsenic emergency room physicians warn astir nan dangers of utilizing e-scooters owed to a reported summation successful related injuries.

“As emergency physicians crossed nan country, we’re seeing unthinkable injuries from e-scooters,” Toronto-based emergency expert Dr. Raghu Venugopal said.

“We’re needing to activate trauma teams, we’re needing different surgical specialists to travel successful and dainty nan aggregate traumatic injuries. We’re seeing collarbones shattered needing surgery, we’re seeing six to 7 rib fractures successful patient people, we’re seeing ankles destroyed, needing surgery. And we’re seeing soul bleeding successful nan brain.”

Wearing helmets and wrist guards and avoiding speeding are basal for staying safe while riding, Venugopal said. Unfortunately, galore group disregard these precautions. He noted that galore injured patients thrust their e-scooters astatine precocious speeds without helmets.

Electric scooters person go a acquainted show successful Canadian cities, acknowledgment successful portion to nan surge of scooter-sharing programs. Companies for illustration Bird and Lime person group up shops successful awesome cities for illustration Vancouver, Calgary and Mississauga, Ont., allowing residents to rent these vehicles by nan hour.

Bird Canada launched successful 2019, and since past has expanded to 25 Canadian cities, a institution spokesperson told Global News successful an email Wednesday.

“They are a safe, sustainable, and nosy measurement to get from constituent A to constituent B without nan request for a car,” nan spokesperson said.

“Injuries arsenic a proportionality of rides has steadily decreased successful Canada for immoderate time. Study aft study for nan Canadian marketplace by cities pinch programs person concluded they are astatine slightest arsenic safe if not safer than accepted bicycles.”

However, health-care professionals person warned they’re seeing a emergence successful e-scooter injuries, prompting Montreal Children’s Hospital to rumor an alert past week. In nan past 3 months, nan infirmary said it has seen 7 cases. That’s up from a full of 8 past year.

“The types of injuries we spot are caput injuries, surgery bones, things for illustration that. The much superior ones are nan caput injuries and caput injuries are rather common,” said Liane Fransblow, nan trauma co-ordinator astatine nan Montreal Children’s Injury Prevention Program.

Hospitals are treating e-scooter injuries successful children arsenic young arsenic five, often without helmets, she said.

Fransblow warned that unless regulations and enforcement are tightened, these injuries will only emergence alongside nan increasing fame of e-scooters.

Laws regarding e-scooters alteration not only from state to state but besides from metropolis to metropolis crossed Canada.

In Vancouver, riders must beryllium astatine slightest 16 years old, deterioration a helmet, locomotion their e-scooter erstwhile connected a sidewalk, usage a doorbell erstwhile passing others and guarantee they do not transcend 25 km/h, and location are nary passengers allowed. E-scooter rules successful Vancouver (among different communities successful B.C.) are portion of a aviator task aimed astatine evaluating their usage successful commuting.

E-scooters are banned successful different cities successful nan province, specified arsenic Surrey.

In Alberta, while scooter-sharing programs are permitted successful immoderate cities, individual e-scooters are not allowed connected nationalist sidewalks aliases roadways owed to a deficiency of provincial support for usage beyond backstage property. And though wearing a helmet isn’t legally required successful nan province, it is powerfully recommended.

In Ontario, e-scooters are ineligible successful immoderate cities but travel pinch immoderate restrictions. Riders must beryllium astatine slightest 16 years aged and deterioration a bicycle helmet if nether 18. The velocity limit is capped astatine 24 km/h and sidewalks are off-limits for e-scooters.

Similar to British Columbia, immoderate Ontario cities for illustration Mississauga and Oshawa person embraced e-scooters, while Toronto has opted for a impermanent ban.

In Quebec, you tin thrust e-scooters if you’re astatine slightest 14 years old. You person to deterioration a helmet and instrumentality to velocity limits. And if you are betwixt nan ages of 14 and 17, you request a typical licence to thrust an e-scooter, e-bike aliases moped.

E-scooters and different motorized vehicles, for illustration electrical skateboards and bikes, person quickly gained fame successful Canada owed to their fun, convenient and environmentally friends nature, said Dr. Blair Bigham, an emergency room expert successful Toronto.

However, he cautioned that e-scooter riders should admit that riding 1 is for illustration driving a conveyance but without nan aforesaid protection, and should attack it pinch akin be aware to trim risks of injury.

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He emphasized nan value of wearing wrist guards and a helmet while riding an e-scooter, noting nan precocious incidence of wrist and encephalon injuries among riders.

“Wrist guards are truthful important, and I don’t deliberation a batch of group recognize that. But erstwhile you autumn you often drawback yourself pinch your hands, which tin lead to superior wrist injuries if you’re not protected,” Bigham said.

Venugopal warned that nan astir important information rumor he observes pinch injuries is “speed, speed, speed.”

“Many of nan users of e-scooters are going astatine very precocious speeds. I’ve had patients show maine pinch aggregate injuries that are superior that they were keeping up pinch nan cars,” he said.

“People’s faces are virtually shattered … and erstwhile nan bones successful their look are shattered, it’s not going to beryllium nan aforesaid afterward. Users really request to region and deliberation astir really accelerated they’re travelling successful conscionable axenic actual environments and really you cognize nan quality assemblage against actual astatine a precocious speed, it’s conscionable a disaster.”

Another communal rumor Venugopal sees is aggregate group riding 1 e-scooter. These devices are designed for azygous occupancy only, he stressed.

Brain trauma resulting from not wearing a helmet is different immense information issue, said Kelly Vogt, a trauma surgeon astatine nan London Health Sciences Centre successful London, Ont.

“We spot a batch of group who travel successful without a helmet connected who are still going nan recommended velocity limit who are injured rather substantially,” she said. “It tin origin severe, devastating encephalon injuries that group tin ne'er retrieve from.”

Venugopal, Bigham and Vogt each admit nan advantages of e-scooters arsenic an replacement mode of proscription successful some municipality and suburban settings.

However, they emphasized that it is imaginable to thrust much safely connected nan roads and minimize nan consequence to your body.

“I don’t want to dress for illustration I’m against e-scooters. I mean, this is simply a gyration for a batch of micro transporters successful congested cities aliases moreover successful suburban areas wherever things are dispersed out,” Venugopal said. “And truthful I deliberation our municipal leaders request to deliberation astir really we’re going to incorporated this important caller mode of transportation.”

Vogt stressed nan value of riding e-scooters free of immoderate intoxication from substances specified arsenic narcotics aliases alcohol.

“Anything that impairs your expertise to respond and respond is dangerous,” she said.

She added that it’s besides important for group to deterioration each basal protective instrumentality and believes helmets should beryllium mandatory for each ages.

Her number 1 portion of proposal is to beryllium alert of your surroundings erstwhile going for a scoot.

Even though location aren’t requirements for licences (for e-scooters), you are a conveyance connected nan road, and you request to beryllium alert and travel nan rules of nan road,” she said.

— pinch files from Global News’ Gloria Henriquez