Characteristics of injuries associated with electric personal mobility devices: a nationwide cross-sectional study in South Korea

Abstract

Purpose: The increasing use of electric personal mobility devices (ePMDs) has been accompanied by an increasing incidence of associated accidents. This study aimed to investigate the characteristics of ePMD-related injuries and their associated factors. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted using data from the Emergency Department-based Injury In-depth Surveillance database from 2014 to 2018. All patients who were injured while operating an ePMD were eligible. The primary outcome was the rate of severe injury, defined as an excess mortality ratio-adjusted Injury Severity Score of ≥25. We calculated the adjusted odds ratios (AORs) of outcomes associated with ePMD-related injuries. Results: Of 1,391,980 injured patients, 684 (0.05%) were eligible for inclusion in this study. Their median age was 28 years old, and most injuries were sustained by men (68.0%). The rate of ePMD-related injuries increased from 3.1 injuries per 100,000 population in 2014 to 100.3 per 100,000 population in 2018. A majority of the injuries occurred on the street (32.7%). The most commonly injured area was the head and face (49.6%), and the most common diagnosis was superficial injuries or contusions (32.9%). Being aged 55 years or older (AOR=3.88; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.33–11.36) and operating an ePMD while intoxicated (AOR=2.78; 95% CI 1.52–5.08) were associated with severe injuries. Conclusions: The number of emergency room visits due to ePMD-related injuries is increasing. Old age and drunk driving are both associated with serious injuries. Active traffic enforcement and safety regulations regarding ePMDs should be implemented to prevent severe injuries caused by ePMD-related accidents.

Types of injuries caused by isolated electric scooter accidents

“…The rate of helmet use was only 20%, despite the fact that in Korea, protective devices and licenses have been mandatory when riding an e-scooter since May 2021, and this study took place after that. The rate of helmet use seemed to have increased slightly compared to the 3% reported in previous domestic studies [2,7], but it was still low. Legal regulations need to be strengthened.…”

“…In our study, skull fracture, pneumocephalus, and plastic surgery did not occur at all in the helmet-wearing group. Moreover, there are many reports that using helmets reduces the risk of damage [2,[13][14][15], so it cannot be concluded that wearing helmets is meaningless because this study did not show statistical significance.…”

“…Deaths have rarely been reported in other scooter-related reports. One domestic personal mobility study mentioned death but gave no details of a specific injury mechanism or site [2]. In this study, one additional case had a facial fracture with a facial nerve injury; this patient was treated with an emergency operation (open reduction and internal fixation with neurorrhaphy).…”

“…This growth has been driven by several factors, including personal enjoyment, the environmental friendliness of such low carbon-emitting vehicles, and the public availability of e-scooter service mobile applications. With this growth has come an increase in injuries related to personal mobility-related accidents [1][2][3][4][5][6]. In a multicenter study conducted in Korea, the frequency of e-scooter injuries increased from 3.1 injuries per 100,000 population in 2014 to 100.3 per 100,000 population in 2018 [2].…”

“…With this growth has come an increase in injuries related to personal mobility-related accidents [1][2][3][4][5][6]. In a multicenter study conducted in Korea, the frequency of e-scooter injuries increased from 3.1 injuries per 100,000 population in 2014 to 100.3 per 100,000 population in 2018 [2]. According to another study, the number of e-scooter injury patients more than tripled in 2017 compared to 2016 [7].…”