Six in 10 scooter users admitted to hospital suffer head injuries

About six out of every 10 people admitted to hospital following an accident while using an electric scooter suffered from head injuries, according to a study by Belgian road safety institute Vias.

In addition to the approximately 60% of patients with head injuries, another 24% suffered hip and thigh injuries.

Vias recently examined the figures for hospital admissions following road accidents, both those involving electric scooters and road accidents in general.

In Belgium, almost 15,000 people are admitted to hospital as a result of road accidents, 23% of whom suffer serious injuries.

Serious traffic injuries, such as skull fractures, hip fractures or spinal injuries, account for around a quarter of all people hospitalised after a road accident, Vias's analysis found.

This number has fallen over the last 10 years, from 4,191 in 2013 to 3,386 in 2022.

The study also revealed that the total number of road accident victims hospitalised is actually four times higher than the number of serious injuries recorded by the police after an accident.

“As far as cyclists are concerned, they are the only road users for whom the number of serious injuries is steadily increasing year on year,” Vias noted.

Cyclists currently represent the largest group of seriously injured road users in all age categories.