July 13, 2025 Breaking News, Latest News, and Videos

Study Sheds Light on Severity of E-Scooter Accidents

UCLA study shows many e-scooter crashes require trip to ER. 

By Sam Catanzaro

A new UCLA study sheds light on the severity and frequency of e-scooters accidents, particularly for riders involved in crashes in Santa Monica.

“All the e-scooter companies have a presence in Santa Monica because of its proximity to the beach and the traffic congestion in the city.  During the summer, we saw about 2-3 injuries a day and even more on the weekends,” said Dr. Wally Ghurabi, medical director of the Nethercutt Emergency Center at UCLA Medical Center, Santa Monica. “The injury numbers have grown in direct proportion to the number of e-scooters in the city, so we don’t think this problem will go away anytime soon.”

Researchers at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) have found that people involved in e-scooter accidents are often injured seriously enough — from fractures, dislocated joints and head trauma — to require treatment in emergency rooms.

The researchers examined data from 249 people who were treated at the emergency departments of UCLA Medical Center, Santa Monica, and Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center between Sept. 1, 2017, and Aug. 31, 2018. The study found that about one-third of them arrived by ambulance, an indication of the severity of their injuries. According to Dr. Ghurabi, the UCLA emergency room in Santa Monica saw the most victims of scooter accidents. 

“While the study looked at the types and numbers of e-scooter injuries seen in the emergency rooms in Westwood and Santa Monica, we see more of these injuries here,” Ghurabi said before touching on the severity of injuries seen in these emergency rooms. 

“The biggest take-away here is that you need to be aware of the risks and follow the law, especially when it comes to wearing a helmet. Fifteen miles an hour is fast. If you hit the brakes too hard, you can fly over the handlebars in an instant. We’ve seen teeth knocked out, jaws broken in several places, noses crushed and head injuries including skull fractures.  The most common injuries are wrist, ankle, collarbone and shoulder fractures, but we’ve even seen a young woman wearing flip-flops who needed to have part of her foot amputated after she ran her e-scooter into a car,”  Dr. Ghurabi said.

Santa Monica is the epicenter and birthplace of the e-scooter movement,  but the devices are now available in more than 60 cities nationwide and about a half dozen locations outside of the U.S. The global proliferation of e-scooters was one of the reasons the researches carry out this study,”

“There are thousands of riders now using these scooters, so it’s more important than ever to understand their impact on public health,” said Dr. Tarak Trivedi, the study’s lead author, an emergency physician and scholar in the National Clinician Scholars Program at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. 

The research, published Jan. 25, is the first published study on injuries caused by e-scooters. It finds that the most common form of injury among scooter riders were falls (80 percent), collisions with objects (11 percent), or being struck by a moving vehicle such as a car, bicycle or another scooter (9 percent).

Only four percent of injured riders were wearing a helmet the study also notes. The researchers also observed e-scooter riders at various Los Angeles intersections for a total of seven hours in September 2018. About 94 percent of the 193 people they saw riding scooters were not wearing helmets.

About 92 percent (228) of the injured people were riders, and 8 percent (21) were non-riders, including pedestrians who were struck by scooter riders or who stumbled over a discarded scooter.

“Pedestrians can trip over scooters lying unused on the sidewalk, and can be hit or tripped by someone riding by them.  With so many older people in Santa Monica, it’s something we should all be very concerned about,” Dr. Ghurabi said.

The Santa Monica Mirror reached out to Bird and Lime asking for a comment regarding the study’s findings.

Bird’s Paul Steely White, Director of Safety Policy and Advocacy, offered a response to the research.

“We applaud those who thoughtfully and productively look into all aspects of the rise and impact of shared e-scooters as an environmentally-friendly mode of transportation,” Steely White said.

Steely White went on to say that Bird took issue with the fact that researchers did not work with the company when compiling the study, which he called “limited” and misleading.

“While the report importantly highlights the parity in safety between bicycles and e-scooters, it fails to take into account the sheer number of e-scooter trips taken—the number of injuries reported would amount to a fraction of one percent of the total number of e-scooter rides,” Steely White said. “Moreover, the report fails to put e-scooter injuries into context as they relate to the high number and severity of injuries and deaths caused by motorcycles and automobiles.”

Lime responded in an email saying “At Lime, the safety of our riders and the community is our number one priority. That’s why every day we’re innovating on technology, infrastructure and education to set the standard for micromobility safety. Lime has recently led several safety initiatives.”

These safety initiatives include the launch of the Lime Gen 3 scooter with enhanced safety features, 250,000 free helmets distributed and $1 million in liability insurance with each ride.

<>Related Posts

County Health Leaders Decry Federal Policy Barring Undocumented from Programs

July 12, 2025

July 12, 2025

The officials argued the policy jeopardizes care for all residents, noting it could deter people—regardless of status—from seeking treatment  Leaders...

County Supervisors Move to Preserve Measure J Amid Charter Error

July 12, 2025

July 12, 2025

Measure J mandates that at least 10% of the county’s locally generated, unrestricted funds be allocated to community investments like...

LA Medical Center Seeks Help Identifying Unconscious Patient

July 12, 2025

July 12, 2025

He has been unconscious since admission, and staff have been unable to determine his identity Los Angeles General Medical Center,...

Mayor Bass Issues Directive to Protect Immigrant Communities

July 12, 2025

July 12, 2025

The order expands access to city resources for affected families and requests records from ICE, including details on arrests Mayor...

Downtown Santa Monica CEO Andrew Thomas to Step Down

July 11, 2025

July 11, 2025

Thomas, who rejoined DTSM, Inc. in 2022, oversaw the introduction of a private security program, expanded homeless outreach, and boosted...

Conservancy to Tour Historic Miles Playhouse at State of the City Event

July 11, 2025

July 11, 2025

Built in 1929, the Miles Playhouse serves as the centerpiece of Lincoln Park The Santa Monica Conservancy will offer 15-minute...

Sen. Ben Allen Highlights Challenges, Economic Gains for LA28 Olympics

July 11, 2025

July 11, 2025

The remarks came during the first informational hearing of the Senate’s Special Committee on International Sporting Events State Sen. Ben...

(Video) Summer Camp at School of Rock West LA Turns Kids Into Rockstars

July 11, 2025

July 11, 2025

To Sign Up Now, Go To Schoolofrock.com Summer Camp at School of Rock West LA Turns Kids Into Rockstars To...

L.A. Louver Marks David Hockney’s 88th with Exhibit

July 11, 2025

July 11, 2025

Hockney, a British artist born in 1937, gained fame with the British Pop Art movement and later became known for...

Suspect Arrested in Shoe Retail Theft Spree Across LA County

July 11, 2025

July 11, 2025

During the search, police recovered two firearms and a significant quantity of merchandise The Los Angeles Police Department’s Organized Retail...

Suspect Arrested in Santa Monica Pier Arson Incidents

July 10, 2025

July 10, 2025

The suspect, matching video footage from an arcade, was taken into custody Santa Monica Police Department officers arrested a suspect...

SMPD Launch New Recruitment Website Amid High Vacancy Rates

July 10, 2025

July 10, 2025

The site features multimedia content, including day-in-the-life videos and officer profiles, highlighting the impact of serving the community The Santa...

Father-Daughter Authors to Host Book Signing to Aid Fire-Affected Women

July 10, 2025

July 10, 2025

Ten percent of proceeds from book and art sales will benefit the Pacific Palisades Rebuilding Fund, a nonprofit initiative created...

Metro Reports Crime Drop, Higher Rider Satisfaction, and Progress on Major Projects

July 9, 2025

July 9, 2025

The Authority said the drop in violent incidents—down to the lowest level since May 2019—coincided with more uniformed personnel and...

Santa Monica Joins Regional Lawsuit to Halt Unconstitutional ICE Raids

July 9, 2025

July 9, 2025

The motion to intervene seeks to ensure that Santa Monica and other plaintiff-intervenors can advocate for their residents’ rights in...