Road safety is a major public health priority for us all. In recent years, there has been a global shift towards sustainable, environmentally friendly modes of transport, with a steadily increasing uptake of electric vehicles including bicycles and scooters.
Electric scooters are now commonplace on the streets of towns and cities in Ireland, and indeed across the world.
However, despite their many benefits and advantages, accidents involving these vehicles are becoming more common and the incidence of serious injuries with devastating, permanent consequences is rising steadily.
Riders of electric scooters are defined as “vulnerable” road users because of the minimal physical protection provided by these vehicles. The Road Traffic and Roads Act 2023 officially classifies them as “personal powered transporters” with a small standing platform and no seat for use by one person only.
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Legislation governing their use on Irish roads was introduced in May last year and mandates that riders must be at least 16 years of age, observe a maximum speed limit of 20km/h, not use footpaths and carry no passengers.
By their very design, electric scooters are dangerous machines. The rider is standing on a narrow platform on top of small wheels, powered by a motor capable of reaching speeds of up to 60km/h. Worryingly, a UK tech company, Bo, has manufactured a turbocharged scooter, dubbed “The Monster”, reportedly capable of reaching a speed of 160km/h.
With ongoing improvement in electric scooter technology and motor power, it is sadly no surprise that the number of accidents involving electric scooters is rising steadily. According to An Garda Síochána, there were 310 collisions involving electric scooters reported in 2023, 422 in 2024 and 260 in the first six months of this year alone – a trend which is going in the wrong direction.
A survey of electric scooter users commissioned by the Road Safety Authority (RSA) last year identified that most regular users were males under the age of 35 living in urban areas and that nearly one in four regular users was involved in a collision. Similar trends are emerging in the United Kingdom and other countries across the world.
As a result, emergency departments across the country are having to deal with an increasing number of people who have been injured in such accidents.
The consequences can range from broken bones, facial and dental trauma to head and spinal cord injuries, often with life-changing consequences.
In recent years, many Irish hospitals have conducted observational research on the injury profile and outcomes of riders and other road users presenting for emergency care after being involved in accidents involving electric scooters. Data from the National Maxillofacial Unit at St James’s Hospital in Dublin, for example, found that after the introduction of the 2024 legislation permitting these machines to be used on Irish roads, overall injury rates are increasing, although fewer incidents have been recorded in the under-16 age group. More alarming, however, is the fact that the presence of alcohol and drugs in injured riders has doubled (from 18 per cent to 36 per cent), while the wearing of helmets has decreased.
There is still no current legal requirement to wear a helmet while riding an electric scooter. The wearing of a helmet when cycling or scooting should be second nature for us all. There is a large body of robust international research which has shown wearing a helmet can reduce the risk of head injury by up to 51 per cent, and the risk of death by up to 65 per cent.
People with the most severe brain and spinal cord injuries are referred to the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Dún Laoghaire, where I work.
Over the past few months, my colleagues and I have treated a number of young people with severe brain injuries sustained in accidents involving electric scooters which have resulted in enduring disability and drastically altered lives.
So, what should be done to deal with the electric scooter “monster” that is being unleashed?
We all need to take responsibility as road users in our congested towns and cities, whether we are electric scooter riders, cyclists, motorists or pedestrians.
Electric scooter riders need to observe the legal speed limit and obey the rules of the road, just like the rest of us. We also need greater enforcement of the law by An Garda Síochána.
Furthermore, given the increasing popularity of electric scooters among young males (who in general are more inclined to risky behaviour on the roads), education targeted at this cohort needs to be prioritised. Schools have an important role to play here.
All of this, of course, needs to be backed up with further development of our road infrastructure, including the continued creation of dedicated cycle and “scooting” lanes and improved street lighting to enhance the safety of our various road users. In Dublin, this is being given priority, and we need to see similar progress elsewhere across Ireland.
For a rehabilitation physician, there is nothing more heartbreaking than having to treat a young person whose future has been destroyed by life-changing injuries sustained in an incident where the consequences could have been averted by wearing a helmet and curtailing speed, particularly when riding an electric scooter.
So, let us all abide by the rules of the road: reduce speed and be vigilant for vulnerable road users. To riders of electric scooters in particular, I beg you to be extra careful, don’t drink or take drugs before travelling and, for goodness sake, wear a helmet; it could save your life.
Dr Raymond Carson is a consultant in rehabilitation medicine at the National Rehabilitation University Hospital, Dún Laoghaire, and Beaumont Hospital, Dublin. He is also a clinical associate professor at University College Dublin
