TUAT

Scooter systems, classified as micromobility, have recently been on the agenda as an alternative urban transportation system. Scooters have emerged as a type of transportation that is widely used in the world and in our country in a short time due to the flexibility and ease of use they provide. It is known that the age range of users is between 16-60 years old, they are generally used for short-distance (average 2 km) and short-term (approximately 11 minutes) journeys and as a new transportation alternative. In terms of safety, it has been observed that more than half of the accidents that occur with scooters are user-related.

While scooters were previously used in entertainment and leisure activities, the problems brought about by the fact that scooters have started to be used as a means of transportation in the world and in our country day by day, the accidents that occur while using scooters and the injuries and even deaths that occur afterwards have increased the sensitivity to this issue.

Although there have not yet been many studies on scooter injuries, in the existing studies, the most common injuries are craniofacial soft tissue and/or skeletal system injuries in approximately 26% to 58% of patients admitted to emergency departments. Studies have also shown that the most common mechanisms of injury in scooter users are falls (80%), collisions with objects (11%) and being hit by a moving vehicle such as a car, bicycle or other scooter (9%). Although common injuries caused by scooter use are observed as traumatic brain injury/concussion, bone fractures, joint dislocations, sprains, abrasions and abrasions, in reality, severe consequences ranging from limb loss, internal organ injuries and even death can be encountered.

Especially after the Covid-19 pandemic, people worried about the risk of virus transmission in crowded public transportation vehicles started to prefer scooters for short distances. The rapid spread of these vehicles has led to legal regulations in many countries. It should not be forgotten that scooters can cause irreparable accidents in addition to their positive contributions to both transportation and the environment.

Studies have reported that scooter users are more injured per kilometer than cyclists and are twice as likely to be injured by potholes, pavement cracks, lampposts and signs, and three times more likely to be hit by a motor vehicle.

Scooter users can be exposed to trauma, especially without using protective equipment such as helmets, armbands, knee pads and similar protective equipment, and can be exposed to whole body injuries that can go from very mild to fatal depending on the speed they are traveling or the speed of another moving vehicle.

The lack of an ICD diagnosis code that directly includes the scooter heading in emergency room admissions leads to insufficient data on the number of cases. While those presenting with simple abrasions are recorded as soft tissue trauma, there is no diagnosis code for traffic accidents, as in bicycle, motorcycle and vehicle accidents. However, scooter injuries are actually high-energy traumas like traffic accidents.

In our country and around the world, roads that are not suitable even for motorcyclists and bicyclists, and the lack of public awareness of the rules established for these users, are exceptionally high when it comes to scooters.

Various legal regulations have been introduced as a result of injuries and deaths caused by the increasing use of scooters in Europe and America and in many developed countries of the world. Some of these are legal regulations such as the obligation to have a scooter driver’s license, the obligation to have health insurance, the requirement to use helmets and protective equipment, age limit (15-18 years old lower limit), not riding with more than one person, not carrying any load, not using alcohol in some countries, not using at certain times of the day or on certain days of the week. The paths to be followed by scooter users have been established and determined by rules. In our country, studies for similar regulations have started and implementation has been started from time to time.

It is an inevitable fact that disability and health expenditures resulting from accidents caused by scooter use will constitute a certain burden on the national economy. For example, while hip fractures occur mostly in the elderly population due to falls, hip fractures and lower and upper extremity fractures have increased with the use of scooters, and the prolongation of operational interventions and post-operative rehabilitation process, and the fact that the segment using scooters is in the young and working active adult population causes a significant loss of labor force.

In summary, the rapidly increasing use of scooters as an important means of transportation in addition to its use for recreation and tourism purposes has led to the emergence of many problems. In this context, the development of a multidisciplinary approach to scooter accidents, the rapid implementation of laws and regulations, the implementation of appropriate road and pavement works by local governments, more studies on scooter injuries by related sciences, especially emergency medicine, informing the public through educational institutions and media organs under the umbrella of preventive medicine, and organizing various trainings will contribute to preventing accidents and injuries related to scooter use and improving their results.

Doç. Dr. Serkan DOĞAN

Istanbul Kanuni Sultan Süleyman SUAM

Department of Emergency Medicine.

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