Sixty percent of electric scooter users admitted to hospital suffer from head trauma, a study by the Belgian institute for road safety Vias revealed this Thursday. Twenty-four percent of them also suffered hip and thigh injuries.
In addition to hospital data relating to electric scooter users, Vias examined the figures for admissions following road accidents in general. In Belgium, nearly 15,000 people are hospitalized in this context, 23% of whom have serious injuries. The Vias Institute has dissected all this information and in particular the type of lesions depending on the mode of travel.
Serious traffic injuries, such as skull fractures, hip fractures or spinal injuries, represent around a quarter (23%) of all people hospitalized after an accident (14,450 in 2022). , underlines Vias. This number has fallen by 19% over the last ten years, from 4,191 in 2013 to 3,386 in 2022.
In fact, one in two serious injuries is a cyclist.
The study shows, on the other hand, that the total number of road accident victims hospitalized is in reality four times higher than the number of serious injuries recorded by the police after an accident.
As for cyclists, they are the only road users for whom the number of serious injuries is constantly increasing from year to year, deplores Vias. They currently represent the largest group of seriously injured people in all age categories. “In fact, one in two serious injuries is a cyclist,” summarizes the institute. Their share in the total number of serious injuries is also increasing. In 2022, they accounted for 49% of all seriously injured people, compared to “only” 37% in 2016.
electric scooter VIAS accident institute
