HCA Florida Brandon Hospital is seeing an increasing number of patients with electric bike and scooter-related injuries this summer.
Pediatric emergency physician Dr. Michael Haynes said this reflects a nationwide trend of more children being hurt in e-scooter and e-bike accidents.
“We were seeing kids come in that were found unconscious on the ground by their neighbors, kids coming in with broken limbs,” Dr. Haynes said.
While road rashes are the less severe injuries Dr. Haynes and his team are seeing from these accidents, he said too many have head injuries and more serious problems.
He said he’s seeing more serious injuries in older teenagers.
In Florida, riders under 16 are required to wear helmets, but there is no age limit for users of electric bikes and scooters. These can be ridden on public roadways and sidewalks.
A spokesperson for the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said Florida law “requires riders to observe all of the same traffic rules and laws as bicyclists.”
Dr. Haynes said riders are using these vehicles as a substitute for a car, especially if they don’t have a license or another way to get to work or have other obligations.
These vehicles can go up to 30 miles per hour, and Dr. Haynes said that when the rider crashes, they can be thrown from their bike or scooter.
“It’s basically like riding a motorcycle, and then it’s making you into a projectile,” he said. “And there’s no protection for you.”
He said there have been weeks where he sees at least one e-bike or e-scooter-related incident a day.
“In general, we usually see outdoor-based injuries in the summer,” he said, “but kids are using these to transport themselves to and from school, to and from work. So, I think it’s just going to be a more year-round thing.”
Dr. Haynes added parent supervision could help reduce these injuries, but in some cases it’s just not possible.
He said that if parents wouldn’t let their kid drive a motorcycle, they should consider the similarities e-bikes and e-scooters have to a gasoline-powered vehicle.
“I can fix a broken arm. I can fix a broken leg. I can’t necessarily fix your broken skull,” Dr. Haynes said.
At the bare minimum, he said riders need to be wearing a helmet.
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