How safe are scooters? A pediatric ER expert weighs in

In Canada, and around the world, the growing popularity of scooters is also leading to a surge in emergency room visits, according to a pediatric ER expert.

Scooters, both manual and electric, are gaining popularity in Canada and around the world. They are especially popular among kids of all ages to stay active and get around. However, scooters can be dangerous when ridden around traffic or at high speeds.

In Canada, and around the world, a popularity increase is also leading to a surge in emergency room visits from scooter-related injuries, said Meagan Doyle, a pediatric emergency physician and the trauma medical director at McMaster University.

“To be honest, a lot of us in the emergency department are saying ‘just don't use them because they're not safe,’” Doyle told CTVNews.ca over a phone interview on Tuesday.

A report published in 2022 by Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention in Canada stated there were 523 hospital cases related to e-scooter injuries between Jan. 2012 and Dec. 2019 in 11 pediatric and nine general hospitals across the country.

Out of these cases, 299 (57 per cent) were between the ages of two and 14 years old.

Doyle said they are seeing even more kids come to the pediatric emergency department with scooter-related injuries this year; yet, these numbers are difficult to accurately compare to previous data.

“The problem with using any sort of numbers is that, because they're new, any data will obviously tell us there's an increase in injuries related to e-scooters because we didn't have them easily accessible before,” she said.