As electric scooters (e-scooters) become more available in cities and urban areas, injuries are becoming more common – especially among teenage boys. That’s one of the findings of a new study using a national database of e-scooter injuries, which also found racial and ethnic disparities among those injured.
Led by childhood injury experts at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, the study shows that e-scooter-related injuries account for more than 45% of children’s injuries, including head injuries, traumatic brain injuries and broken bones.
The study findings were published March 26 in the journal Injury.
To examine whether factors including race or ethnicity were associated with injury, experts at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center looked at data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS), a program overseen by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission that collects data from a nationally representative sample of U.S. emergency departments. From 2020–24, 2,117 pediatric e-scooter injuries were recorded in the dataset. 70.7% of cases are boys under 18 years of age. 38.3% of cases are in children aged 11 to 14 years.
Men are at greater risk of sustaining both minor and major injuries, including head injuries and traumatic brain injuries. “This probably reflects a mix of behavioral and social factors, including greater risk taking and less use of protective equipment such as helmets.”
Mary Beth Howard, MD, MS, pediatric emergency medicine physician at The Children’s Center
“Young teens have less developed motor skills, poor judgment, and limited experience with traffic and road safety, making them more vulnerable to injuries,” says Howard.
Additionally, she says, risk-taking behavior and peer influence increases in early adolescence, making this age group particularly vulnerable to injury.
Researchers found that from 2020 to 2024, injury rates were highest among Black and Hispanic children, at 16% and 15.7%, respectively. They also found that black and Hispanic children represented a larger share of e-scooter injuries than their representation in other types of unintentional injuries, such as accidents involving electric bikes, traditional bikes, skateboards and hoverboards.
Specifically, the researchers report, their analysis found that black and Hispanic children, although harmed more often, do not have higher rates of serious injury or hospitalization than other racial and ethnic groups. Furthermore, he said, most accidents resulted in musculoskeletal or soft tissue injuries, including dislocations, fractures and abrasions. A smaller proportion had internal organ injuries (13%) or head injuries, including trauma (4%).
The research team cautions that their analysis did not account for injuries treated in urgent care or non-emergency settings, but they say their findings better understand the impact of increased e-scooter use.
The investigators say the findings should also inform health care providers and policy makers where to place additional educational and safety resources related to e-scooter use. He says preventing these injuries requires a combination of education, policy change and environmental improvements. Among other recommendations, the researchers urge policies that require or recommend that all children, regardless of age, wear a helmet when driving or riding an electric scooter.
Howard says local speed limits on roads and paths shared by pedestrians and cyclists have been linked to reducing injury severity. Similarly, she says that according to the results of previous international studies, speed limit laws specifically for e-scooters could significantly reduce injury incidents.
Creating safe, dedicated spaces for riding, such as protected lanes or recreational paths separated from road traffic, can further reduce the risk of injury, she says, especially in low-income neighborhoods, where limited access to safe play areas and well-maintained roads can contribute to higher rates of e-scooter injuries.
Other authors of the study include Joanna Cohen and Laura Pritchett with Johns Hopkins.
The study was funded by the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Source:
Journal Reference:
Howard, MB, and others. (2026). Disparities in the incidence and severity of electric scooter injuries among children. Injury. doi:10.1016/j.injury.2026.113175. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0020138326001609?via%3Dihub
