Doctor: Balance loss causes most serious e-scooter accidents

ERR reported that 80 percent of serious electric scooter accidents are caused not by collisions with another vehicle or person, but by riders losing their balance and falling, emergency department resident doctor Kadri Ustav said.

Speaking on Raadio 2’s R2 Hommik programme, Ustav said that all serious cases involved excessive speed and the absence of a helmet. The North Estonia Regional Hospital recorded nearly 400 such accidents last year, including both adults and children.

Ustav said Tallinn Children’s Hospital had recently treated at least one child injured in an electric scooter accident almost every day. She added that many adults involved in accidents at the North Estonia Regional Hospital had consumed alcohol.

She also said that too many adults ride electric scooters with more than one person on board, while alcohol and other substances can impair their decision-making.

Ustav advised people to seek emergency department care for serious symptoms such as severe chest pain radiating to the arm, major trauma or a deep cut. Many less serious conditions, including tick bites, fever, coughs and runny noses, can be treated at home, she said.