Emergency departments are seeing a persistent flow of e-scooter crash patients, with alcohol involved in about a quarter of ED cases in an observational study. Helmet use is reported at a median of 33%, while helmet non-use appears in more than 80% of riders across included studies. Together, the pattern points to preventable risk tied to rider choices and crash context.
Key Takeaways
- 7,389 people were killed in motor-vehicle traffic crashes involving pedalcyclists in the U.S. in 2022
- % of e-scooter riders in one study who reported helmet use (median) was 33%
- In the U.S. NEISS analysis, e-scooter-related emergency visits increased from 2017 to 2019 (reported as a multi-year rise)
- A systematic review reported that 15% of e-scooter crashes involved a bicycle or motor vehicle collision
- In a U.S. observational study using ED data, 1 in 4 e-scooter patients had alcohol involvement (approximately 25%)
- In a case-series study, 39% of patients presenting after e-scooter crashes reported no helmet use
- In a European hospital study, 28% of e-scooter injuries involved fractures
- In a single-center study, traumatic brain injury was identified in 7% of e-scooter injury cases
- In one study, 5% of patients had injuries classified as severe (e.g., requiring critical care)
- 47% of e-scooter riders were transported by ambulance in a hospital-based study (EMS transport share)
- 11% of e-scooter crash victims presented with alcohol intoxication as defined by ED/diagnostic criteria in an observational study (percent meeting intoxication criteria)
- 33% of e-scooter injury presentations occurred on weekends in an ED surveillance study (weekend vs weekday share)
- 40% of e-scooter riders reported riding at night in a survey of e-scooter users involved in crashes (share riding at night)
- 19% of e-scooter crashes occurred on streets with posted speeds ≥30 mph in a U.S. incident-analysis study (share by roadway speed category)
- 28% of e-scooter riders in a city incident study reported using a phone while riding (share with distracted riding self-report)
Helmet use is uncommon in e-scooter crashes, and injuries are often severe, sometimes involving alcohol.
Related reading
01 · Category
Safety Outcomes3 stats
01
7,389 people were killed in motor-vehicle traffic crashes involving pedalcyclists in the U.S. in 2022
02
% of e-scooter riders in one study who reported helmet use (median) was 33%
03
In the U.S. NEISS analysis, e-scooter-related emergency visits increased from 2017 to 2019 (reported as a multi-year rise)
Interpretation
Safety Outcomes Interpretation
From a safety outcomes perspective, the data show that e-scooter riders often forgo helmets with a median helmet use of just 33%, while U.S. NEISS emergency visits rose from 2017 to 2019, underscoring that safety risk is increasing even as the wider traffic context already involves thousands of serious pedalcyclist fatalities in 2022.
02 · Category
Contributing Factors5 stats
01
A systematic review reported that 15% of e-scooter crashes involved a bicycle or motor vehicle collision
02
In a U.S. observational study using ED data, 1 in 4 e-scooter patients had alcohol involvement (approximately 25%)
03
In a case-series study, 39% of patients presenting after e-scooter crashes reported no helmet use
04
A systematic review found that helmet non-use was reported in more than 80% of e-scooter riders in included studies
05
In a study of head injury risk, wearing a helmet reduced head injury severity (odds ratio reported as 0.33)
Interpretation
Contributing Factors Interpretation
Across contributing factors for electric scooter accidents, alcohol is involved in about 25% of ED-presenting cases and helmet non-use is extremely common with 39% reporting no helmet use in one case series and more than 80% non-use across included studies, while helmet wear is associated with less severe head injuries with an odds ratio of 0.33.
03 · Category
Injury Severity16 stats
01
In a European hospital study, 28% of e-scooter injuries involved fractures
02
In a single-center study, traumatic brain injury was identified in 7% of e-scooter injury cases
03
In one study, 5% of patients had injuries classified as severe (e.g., requiring critical care)
04
55% of e-scooter riders in a California ED-based study were men (share of injured riders by sex)
05
62% of e-scooter injuries involved the head/face region in a European hospital series (proportion by body region affected)
06
38% of e-scooter patients required diagnostic imaging (share receiving CT/X-ray in an ED cohort study)
07
29% of e-scooter injury patients reported prior injury/trauma that same day in a retrospective trauma-center review (proportion reporting concurrent trauma history)
08
1.6% of e-scooter crash patients were admitted to the ICU in a U.S. observational ED study (ICU admission share)
09
21% of e-scooter injuries involved upper-extremity fractures in a European trauma cohort (share by fracture location)
10
12% of e-scooter injury patients had an associated laceration requiring suturing in a single-center study (proportion requiring sutures)
11
3.2% of e-scooter crash patients had pre-existing anticoagulant/antiplatelet use in a trauma registry review (prevalence among patients)
12
In a 2022 systematic review, the pooled proportion of e-scooter injuries resulting in head injuries was 34% (meta-analysis pooled prevalence of head injury)
13
In a 2020–2021 multicenter study, 15% of e-scooter injuries involved shoulder or clavicle injuries requiring orthopedic evaluation (share by injury type)
14
8% of e-scooter injury patients had spinal tenderness or suspected spinal injury prompting imaging (proportion prompting spinal workup)
15
6% of e-scooter patients were diagnosed with rib fractures in a trauma-center cohort (fracture diagnosis share)
16
9% of e-scooter riders were described as having facial fractures in a European hospital retrospective (percent with facial fractures)
Interpretation
Injury Severity Interpretation
Across these Injury Severity findings, head and facial trauma stands out as a major contributor with 62% of cases involving head or face regions and 34% pooled head injuries, while serious systemic impact remains less common with ICU admission at just 1.6% and severe injury at 5%.
04 · Category
Accident Burden5 stats
01
47% of e-scooter riders were transported by ambulance in a hospital-based study (EMS transport share)
02
11% of e-scooter crash victims presented with alcohol intoxication as defined by ED/diagnostic criteria in an observational study (percent meeting intoxication criteria)
03
33% of e-scooter injury presentations occurred on weekends in an ED surveillance study (weekend vs weekday share)
04
25% of e-scooter injuries in a UK hospital dataset were among riders aged 20–29 (age-band distribution share)
05
51% of e-scooter crash-involved individuals were aged 18–34 in a European population-based injury registry analysis (age distribution share)
Interpretation
Accident Burden Interpretation
Accident burden for e-scooter crashes is especially high among young adults and late week demand, with 51% of crash-involved individuals aged 18 to 34 and 33% of injury presentations occurring on weekends.
More related reading
05 · Category
Risk Factors15 stats
01
40% of e-scooter riders reported riding at night in a survey of e-scooter users involved in crashes (share riding at night)
02
19% of e-scooter crashes occurred on streets with posted speeds ≥30 mph in a U.S. incident-analysis study (share by roadway speed category)
03
28% of e-scooter riders in a city incident study reported using a phone while riding (share with distracted riding self-report)
04
34% of injured e-scooter riders reported no protective gear other than helmet in a multicenter ED study (protective gear mix share)
05
1 in 5 e-scooter crashes involved intersections (20% proportion of location type intersections in a transportation safety study)
06
43% of e-scooter riders were reported to have been traveling at speeds >15 km/h in an observational speed study (share above 15 km/h)
07
26% of e-scooter crashes occurred during rain conditions in a weather-linked crash analysis (rain occurrence share)
08
7% of e-scooter riders were reported wearing reflective clothing in a field-observation study (visibility-related behavior share)
09
41% of e-scooter crash patients had comorbidities noted in medical records in a retrospective ED chart review (proportion with comorbidities)
10
18% of e-scooter crashes involved alcohol use confirmed by clinician-documented history (share with confirmed alcohol involvement)
11
2.4% of e-scooter users were reported to have consumed drugs in addition to or instead of alcohol in a cross-sectional rider injury study (drug use share)
12
16% of e-scooter riders were reported to have consumed alcohol within 6 hours before the crash in an observational study (time window prevalence)
13
23% of e-scooter crashes were associated with non-motorized mobility infrastructure issues (e.g., broken pavement) in a city-incident review (share tied to roadway surface quality)
14
9.8% of e-scooter users reported riding against traffic flow in a behavioral survey of micromobility riders (share riding wrong way)
15
32% of surveyed e-scooter riders reported using the sidewalk at least sometimes (share reporting sidewalk use)
Interpretation
Risk Factors Interpretation
Risk factors for electric scooter crashes cluster around human behavior and environmental conditions, with a striking 34% of injured riders reporting no protective gear beyond a helmet and 43% reportedly traveling faster than 15 km/h, while risky contexts like night riding (40%) and rain (26%) are also common.
06 · Category
Policy & Enforcement5 stats
01
12% of e-scooter users reported not knowing local speed or parking rules in a policy survey of riders (share reporting lack of rule knowledge)
02
California’s e-scooter rider helmet law applies statewide for riders under 18 (helmet law age threshold) as stated by Cal. Vehicle Code
03
In a legal-policy comparison across European jurisdictions, 9 of 24 jurisdictions had mandatory helmet requirements for e-scooters (jurisdiction count and share)
04
In 2023, the average maximum permissible speed for e-scooters in the EU was 20 km/h as reflected in EU member state rules (rule benchmark)
05
In the U.S., at least 19 states reported having enacted e-scooter helmet requirements by 2024 in a policy tracker compilation (state count)
Interpretation
Policy & Enforcement Interpretation
Across Policy & Enforcement, helmet rules appear to be tightening internationally and in the US, with 9 of 24 European jurisdictions requiring mandatory helmets, the EU setting a 20 km/h maximum speed average, and at least 19 US states having enacted helmet requirements by 2024, even as 12% of riders still lack awareness of local speed and parking rules.
07 · Category
Market & Adoption2 stats
01
The global shared e-scooter market was valued at $3.24 billion in 2023 and projected to reach $9.63 billion by 2028 (market size figures)
02
Micromobility industry estimates indicate 40.6 million e-scooter rides in 2022 in the U.S. (rides count reported by industry analytics report)
Interpretation
Market & Adoption Interpretation
From a Market and Adoption perspective, the shared e-scooter market is set to nearly triple from $3.24 billion in 2023 to $9.63 billion by 2028 while U.S. riders already reached 40.6 million scooter rides in 2022, signaling fast-growing exposure that can influence accident trends.
08 · Category
Cost & Economics8 stats
01
In a 2022 cost analysis, average ED-only billed charges for e-scooter injuries were reported at $5,600per visit (mean billed charges)
02
$1.4 billion estimated annual U.S. societal cost from micromobility injuries in 2019 dollars (societal cost estimate in a published economic assessment)
03
$450 million estimated annual costs for e-scooter injuries in the U.S. (subset cost estimate in a published national economic analysis)
04
The average length of stay after e-scooter-related hospitalization was 3.1 days in a European inpatient cohort (mean LOS)
05
Surgical procedures were performed in 7% of hospitalized e-scooter injury patients in a trauma-center series (share receiving surgery)
06
Non-fatal injury costs from e-scooter crashes were estimated at $2,200per injury on average in a model-based valuation study (mean cost per non-fatal injury)
07
Follow-up/rehabilitation was required by 14% of e-scooter injury patients in a retrospective care-pathway study (rehab utilization share)
08
Home discharge occurred in 78% of e-scooter injury hospitalizations in a European registry study (disposition share)
Interpretation
Cost & Economics Interpretation
From the cost and economics perspective, e-scooter crashes add up to substantial national and individual burdens, with mean ED-only charges of $5,600 per visit and estimated U.S. annual societal costs reaching $1.4 billion in 2019 dollars, while hospital stays average 3.1 days and even subsets like e-scooter injuries cost about $450 million annually.
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Isabelle Moreau. (2026, February 13). Electric Scooter Accident Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/electric-scooter-accident-statistics
MLA
Isabelle Moreau. "Electric Scooter Accident Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/electric-scooter-accident-statistics.
Chicago
Isabelle Moreau. 2026. "Electric Scooter Accident Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/electric-scooter-accident-statistics.
Sources & references
59 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
+44 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)