Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Emergency department visits resulting from electric scooter use in a major southeast metropolitan area

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Emergency Radiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

To determine the frequency, characteristics, and resource use related to the emergency department (ED) encounters resulting from electric scooter use in a major metropolitan area.

Methods

This Institutional Review Board-approved study was conducted at a four-hospital healthcare system. Our clinical data warehouse was retrospectively searched from 5/3/2018 (the date electric scooters were introduced) through 8/15/2019 for various forms of the word “scooter” in triage notes. Demographic variables, arrival mode, length of stay, disposition, and resource utilization, including diagnostic radiology, were extracted.

Results

Over the 471-day study window, 293 unique patients presented with e-scooter injuries (0.62 mean ED visits/day). When broken down into 8-h periods, there was a significant increase (p = 0.048) from Friday after 5 PM through Sunday night. Thirty-two percent of patients arrived at the ED during (newly enacted at the time of study) nighttime e-scooter ban hours (9 PM–4 AM). There was a range of one to nine diagnostic radiology examinations per patient, with 100% (293) of patients receiving at least one diagnostic radiology examination. A total of 710 diagnostic radiology examinations were performed on the entire cohort (mean 2.4 per patient): 77.2% (548) were radiographs and 22.1% (157) were computed tomography (CT).

Conclusion

ED visits resulting from electric scooter injuries are common and increasing. E-scooter injury patients disproportionately present on evenings and weekends, possibly exacerbating already busy periods in the ED. Healthcare resource needs and availability should be considered when developing policy about electric scooter use and distribution, particularly involving emergency care providers in close proximity to e-scooter distribution centers.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Shareable Dockless Mobility Devices 2019 [Available from: https://www.atlantaga.gov/home/showdocument?id=43938]

  2. Atlanta e scooter experience Georgia Senate Study Committee 2019

  3. Dockless Electric Scooter-Related Injuries Study 2019 [Available from: https://www.austintexas.gov/sites/default/files/files/Health/Epidemiology/APH_Dockless_Electric_Scooter_Study_5-2-19.pdf]

  4. Mayhew LJ, Bergin C (2019) Impact of e-scooter injuries on emergency department imaging. J Med Imaging Radiat Oncol 63(4):461–466

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Trivedi TK, Liu C, Antonio ALM, Wheaton N, Kreger V, Yap A, Schriger D, Elmore JG (2019) Injuries associated with standing electric scooter use. JAMA Netw Open 2(1):e187381

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Badeau A, Carman C, Newman M, Steenblik J, Carlson M, Madsen T (2019) Emergency department visits for electric scooter-related injuries after introduction of an urban rental program. Am J Emerg Med 37(8):1531–1533

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Aizpuru M, Farley KX, Rojas JC, Crawford RS, Moore TJ Jr, Wagner ER (2019) Motorized scooter injuries in the era of scooter-shares: a review of the national electronic surveillance system. Am J Emerg Med 37(6):1133–1138

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Linton J (2019) StreetsBlog LA [13 January 2020]. Available from: https://la.streetsblog.org/2019/11/15/santa-monica-extends-pioneering-e-scooter-pilot-program/

  9. Felton R (2019) E-Scooter ride-share industry leaves injuries and angered cities in its Path [Available from: https://www.consumerreports.org/product-safety/e-scooter-ride-share-industry-leaves-injuries-and-angered-cities-in-its-path/

  10. Deere S (2019) Atlanta mayor: No more riding electric scooters and bikes after 9 p.m. Atl J Const

  11. Habersham R (2019) How safe is that e-scooter? Atlanta hospitals asked to tally injuries. Atl J Const

  12. Nellamattathil M, Amber I (2020) An evaluation of scooter injury and injury patterns following widespread adoption of E-scooters in a major metropolitan area. Clin Imaging 60(2):200–203

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Bicycle Safety Action Plan (2018) Georgia department of transportation

  14. McKevitt EC, Calvert E, Ng A, Simons RK, Kirkpatrick AW, Appleton L et al (2003) Geriatric trauma: resource use and patient outcomes. Can J Surg 46(3):211–215

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  15. Champion HR, Copes WS, Buyer D, Flanagan ME, Bain L, Sacco WJ (1989) Major trauma in geriatric patients. Am J Public Health 79(9):1278–1282

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Dickey MR (2018) Bird hits 10 million scooter rides [Available from: https://techcrunch.com/2018/09/20/bird-hits-10-million-scooter-rides/]

  17. Bird (2019) Bird’s Impact on Atlanta [Available from: https://www.bird.co/blog/birds-impact-on-atlanta/]

  18. Bottoms KL (2019) Opinion: facilitating scooter growth while managing safety. Atl J Const

  19. Capelouto JD (2019) Another metro Atlanta city has banned e-scooters. Atl J Const

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, 1364 Clifton Road NE, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA

    Nduka Vernon, Kiran Maddu, Tarek N. Hanna, Amanda Chahine & Jamlik-Omari Johnson

  2. Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 790 Atlantic Dr, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA

    Caroline E. Leonard

Authors
  1. Nduka Vernon
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Kiran Maddu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Tarek N. Hanna
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Amanda Chahine
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Caroline E. Leonard
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Jamlik-Omari Johnson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kiran Maddu.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

IRB statement

This study was reviewed and approved by our institutional IRB.

Additional information

Publisher’s note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Vernon, N., Maddu, K., Hanna, T.N. et al. Emergency department visits resulting from electric scooter use in a major southeast metropolitan area. Emerg Radiol 27, 469–475 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10140-020-01783-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10140-020-01783-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation