Injuries associated with micromobility devices increased nearly 21 percent in 2022 from 2021, a new report released by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) shows.
Micromobility-related injuries have trended upward since 2017, increasing an estimated average 23 percent annually, according to the report, “Micromobility Products-Related Deaths, Injuries, and Hazard Patterns.”
The report estimates the number of injuries based on data collected from a sample of U.S. hospitals.
E-scooters are associated with a rise in injuries, year-over-year.
Nearly half (46 percent) of all estimated e-bike injuries from 2017 to 2022 occurred in 2022 alone. Hoverboard injuries defied the upward trend, the report found, decreasing by 26 percent from 2021 to 2022.
There have been an estimated 233 deaths associated with micromobility devices from 2017 through 2022.
Children 14 years and younger accounted for about 36 percent of micromobility injuries from 2017 to 2022, the report found, double their 18 percent proportion of the U.S. population.
The report found that non-Hispanic Black consumers represented 29 percent of micromobility device related injuries, a significantly higher proportion than their 13 percent of the U.S. population.
Analysis shows there were an estimated 360,800 emergency department visits related to all micromobility devices from 2017 through 2022.
Fractures, followed by contusions/abrasions, are the two most common injuries.
The most frequently injured body areas are the upper and lower limbs, as well as the head and neck.
May through October had the largest percentages for both e-scooter and e-bike related injuries whereas December and January had the largest percentages for hoverboard-related injuries, the CPSC found.
Fires were a significant hazard across all micromobility devices, the agency warns.
CPSC is aware of 19 deaths associated with micromobility device fires from January 1, 2021, through November 28, 2022.
In a December 2022, CPSC called on more than 2,000 manufacturers, importers, distributors and retailers of e-scooters, self-balancing scooters (often referred to as hoverboards), e-bicycles and e-unicycles to review their product lines and ensure they comply with established voluntary safety standards to reduce the serious risk of dangerous fires with these products or face possible enforcement action.