New numbers from Alberta Health show more and more Calgary youth are ending up in emergency departments with e-scooter injuries.
This comes as apps like Bird and Neuron make it easier than ever for Calgarians to hop on electric scooters, which can travel up to 20 km/hr.
In 2022, 149 Calgarians under 18 needed medical attention for e-scooter injuries. That number climbed to 169 last year, and as of June this year, there has already been 63 pediatric cases.
Calgary has seen a total of nearly 300 electric scooter related injuries so far this year, but the trend is being noticed across the province. Alberta ER and urgent care centres saw 21 per cent more e-scooter injuries last year than in 2022
Dr. Eddy Lang, professor of emergency medicine at the University of Calgary, says there are any variables that make scooter rides more dangerous.
“When you’re flying off of a scooter, the faster it was going, the more severe your injury,” he explained. “But, it’s not just that, it’s the time of the day that people are choosing to use their scooters and often we’re seeing more injuries at night. People are making the mistake of either doubling up or consuming alcohol.”
“Your unrestrained, you’re often not wearing a helmet, and you’re a human projectile, essentially.”
More often than not, patients with e-scooter injuries come into ERs with broken wrists and ankles, but Lang notes that riding e-scooters brings the serious risk of severe, life-altering brain injuries.
“I had a young man just the other day who sustained an ankle injury after an e-scooter accident which was so severe he required an operation to fix the joint,” Lang said.
Calgary sees around 40 per cent of the province’s reported e-scooter injuries every year.