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E-scooter riders sustain more head and internal injuries than motorcyclists and cyclists in England and Wales - Scientific Reports
Electric scooters are increasingly used across the United Kingdom, yet national evidence on injury patterns, severity and exposure-adjusted risk remains limited. This study combined the National Major Trauma Registry for England and Wales (trauma admissions, 2020–2022) with operator-reported rental incident data from 18 cities (2020–2024), covering more than 33 million rides and 77.8 million kilometres. The two sources were analysed separately, not linked; across 38,440 records combined (15,247 registry trauma patients and 23,193 operator-reported incidents), e-scooter trauma showed a distinct injury profile, with higher adjusted relative risks than motorcyclists of traumatic brain injury (RR 3.45, 95% CI 3.19–3.75), internal organ injury (1.46, 1.35–1.57) and vascular trauma (3.24, 2.72–3.86), but lower fracture risk (0.80, 0.74–0.85); traumatic brain injury risk also exceeded that of cyclists (1.74, 1.61–1.88). Traumatic brain injury accounted for over one third of adult injuries, and paediatric riders formed a larger share of the trauma burden than in comparator groups. Helmet use was rare, female sex was associated with higher injury severity, and exposure-adjusted collision rates varied with area-level deprivation. A standardised severity framework enables clearer comparison across transport modes and supports evidence-based regulation, infrastructure planning and targeted public health interventions.
